The owner has had the pub painted with a St George’s flag since 2016.
Jerry Kunkler has run the Moonrakers Inn for 44 years (Picture: GloucesterLive)
A landlord is about to lose his enchantment to maintain the large St George’s Cross he painted on his pub following complaints that it resembles “the headquarters of the Nationwide Entrance”. Jerry Kunkler, proprietor of the Moonrakers Inn in Pewsey, Wiltshire, first painted his white pub with the pink cross in 2016. He repainted it in 2022 for the World Cup in Qatar. Then, in 2025, somebody staying at a neighborhood Airbnb reported it to the council.
The Nineteenth-century pub is Grade II listed, and so Kunkler needed to apply for planning permission to maintain the flag up. The planning utility obtained a number of complaints, with individuals saying it was “racist” and “anti-migrant”.
He was notified by Wiltshire Council that they had been investigating a possible breach of planning laws, and now planners have really useful that the council reject the appliance and that the paint be eliminated. Council planning officer Pippa Card stated the St George’s Cross had a “presumed affiliation with different organisations” and that it “lowered the tone of the realm”.
The Moonrakers Inn misplaced its enchantment over its large St George’s Cross (Picture: GloucesterLive)
However she stated she primarily based her choice on the pub’s listed constructing standing, saying the pink cross “fails to protect the particular curiosity” of the constructing.
Card added that the flag “just isn’t thought-about an applicable or conventional type of ornament” and causes “visible hurt to the particular architectural character and historic curiosity of the early Nineteenth century façade”.
Mr Kunkler, who additionally holds the title of Wiltshire’s longest-standing councillor, stated: “We painted it for the primary time in 2016 for the Euros. In 2022, we painted it up once more for the World Cup in Saudi Arabia as a result of I’m patriotic. I believed I used to be going to deliver the assist right here – it’s a sports activities bar.
“There was all this hoo-ha about St George’s Crosses flying round the UK. However due to the size of time this has been on the market, it has by no means been something to do with that.”
In response to the criticism, Mr Kunkler added: “I’ve all the time run a household pub. I’ve been right here 44 years, all the time selling it as a family-friendly pub, all-inclusive.
“However it’s an English supporting membership. I’ve all the time been an England fan. I am going to Six Nations video games, and we all the time promote them. It was a bit unusual to get that form of electronic mail. I’m an old school English supporting pub.”
Adrian Foster, cupboard member for planning at Wiltshire Council, advised the BBC: “The Moonrakers at 57 Excessive Road in Pewsey is a Grade II-listed constructing throughout the Pewsey Conservation Space.
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“Listed constructing consent is usually required for exterior redecoration the place there’s a change of paint color. The modifications reported about this property might be investigated in accordance with the council’s planning enforcement coverage.”
The matter will go earlier than Wiltshire Council’s planning committee subsequent week, the place refusal is more likely to be voted via.
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