Stratford Council in Talks to Buy Alcester’s Burnt-Out Three Tuns Pub

The district council is talking directly to the owner of the fire-damaged Three Tuns, but no price is agreed, full restoration would cost more than £200,000 and the old restoration permission runs out on 7 December.

By Alex Harrington 2 min read Source: Stratford-on-Avon District Council
High Street in Alcester on a sunny day, with bunting across the road and shops on both sides
High Street, Alcester. Photo: Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0

Stratford-on-Avon District Council is in talks to buy the Three Tuns, the fire-damaged Grade II listed pub on High Street in Alcester, but the two sides haven’t agreed a price, and the council’s own figures suggest the bill won’t stop at the purchase. The scaffolding that has held the building up since the fire in April 2021 still blocks one side of the street.

On this page
  1. What the council has set aside
  2. How it got here
  3. A date to watch: 7 December
  4. What happens next

The council told the Stratford Observer and the Stratford Herald, which first reported the talks, that it is in direct discussions with the owner, has received more legal information and is carrying out due diligence before deciding what to do next. It has also confirmed that fully restoring and reopening the pub would cost more than £200,000.

What the council has set aside

The Herald’s Local Democracy reporter reported last month that £200,000 has been made available: up to £80,000 for the freehold and up to £120,000 to make the building safe without scaffolding. The council has declined to comment on that budget. It would not cover bringing the pub back into use, and council reports quoted by both papers say full restoration is likely to cost much more than the finished building would be worth.

How it got here

  • April 2021: fire guts the building.
  • December 2023: the council grants planning permission to restore the pub and its attached home (23/01357/FUL, with listed building consent sought in 23/01358/LBC). The work never went ahead.
  • 2025: the building is sold at auction.
  • 2 September 2026: the Overview and Scrutiny Committee discusses buying it, mostly in private. The minutes say a majority supported the Cabinet’s option to purchase, while some councillors registered their disquiet and one asked for her objection to be recorded.
  • September 2026: the 10 September auction listing, with a £50,000 guide price, is withdrawn. On 30 September councillors hear it has been relisted for 22 October.
  • October 2026: auctioneer Bond Wolfe says it is no longer instructed, and the council confirms it is talking directly to the owner.

A date to watch: 7 December

The council’s planning file shows the 2023 restoration permission expires on 7 December 2026, three years after it was issued. Whoever owns the pub after that date may need to apply again if work hasn’t started by then. Neither the file nor the council’s statement says what a buyer plans to do about this.

What happens next

No date has been given for a decision. If a deal is done, the council would own a listed building with an obligation to look after it and no budget yet for its full restoration. We’ll update this story when it says more. For other changes to buildings around the district, see our planning news.

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Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.

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