Paul Hollywood has blasted locals as ‘unforgivable’ after they criticised his wife’s plans to close their ‘beautiful’ village pub.
Melissa Spalding and celebrity baker Paul had put more than £80,000 of their own cash into trying to save The Chequers, near Ashford, Kent.
But they said it was no longer viable as a business, so her family submitted plans to turn it into a home earlier this year.
Now the TV chef says that locals should stump up the money to buy the 600-year-old boozer themselves – as he says that it cannot survive without them supporting it.
Following a tense planning meeting, where locals said they had made more than one offer but had been ‘unable to get them to agree or engage fully with us’, The Great British Bake Off host raged against the ‘vindictiveness’ of villiagers.
He told BBC South East: ‘The vindictiveness from the locals towards the family who have been here 18 years is unforgivable.
Paul Hollywood says that locals should stump up the money to buy the 600-year-old boozer themselves – as he says that it cannot survive without them supporting it
The Chequers, near Ashford, Kent, is no longer viable as a business, so Mrs Hollywood’s family submitted plans to turn it into a home earlier this year
Melissa Spalding and celebrity baker Paul had put more than £80,000 of their own cash into trying to save The Chequers, near Ashford, Kent
Hollywood reportedly met Ms Spalding at the pub four years ago, and she has been the landlady for 16 years. Pictured: In 2020
‘If the villagers themselves want to get their act together and put a bid in and buy it, that’s fine.
‘At the end of the month it’s earmarked to close because they cannot sustain the money that’s coming in because there’s no money coming in.’
Melissa had told councillors that her parents had spent even larger sums trying to keep it afloat but said the business was ‘dying on its feet’.
On Wednesday, at a meeting of Ashford Borough Council planning committee, councillors voted seven to five in favour of turning it into a residential property.
This was met with anger from locals who believe the village of Smarden will now be ‘ruined’ as a result.
During the meeting, it was revealed the lengths the couple had gone to try and sell the business as a pub.
This included being marketed with four different estate agents since November 2020.
The Smarden Community Pub group – who are fighting to ‘preserve’ the boozer as a ‘community asset’ – claimed to have put in more than one offer to buy the establishment, but said they had been rebuffed.
During the meeting, it was revealed the lengths the couple had gone to try and sell the business as a pub
Slamming locals in the planning meeting (pictured), Mrs Hollywood fumed: ‘Unfortunately the last six months have shown us the worst in people’s behaviour’
In 2021 Hollywood was pictured hard at work during a night shift in the diner’s kitchen as he made pizzas for hungry diners
A representative said: ‘We as a group have made more than one offer to the owners to purchase the inn on a community run basis but have just been unable to get them to agree or engage fully with us so we can move forward because they seem more intent on the development potential of the site.
‘We feel that if they had been on board months ago we would be a long way down the road to achieving this goal. We are eager but cannot move forward without an agreement.’
Hollywood blasted this as ‘a lie’, and said it had only had one offer. He further claimed that many of the people in the council meeting don’t drink at The Chequers – saying: ‘it’s that classic saying “use it or lose it”‘.
He added that the one offer they had received was ‘not realistic’.
Locals had pleaded with the Great British Bake Off star to intervene.
But he told the BBC that he had already given a ‘substantial amount of money’ but the business was just losing money – and he is ‘not a charity’.
The pub’s owner Glenn Spalding – Mrs Hollywood’s father – had submitted plans in January to turn the 16th-century building into a single-dwelling home.
The plans mean no physical work either externally or internally would be needed at the property.
Hollywood blasted locals claims they had made attempts to buy the pub as ‘a lie’, and said it had only had one offer
The TV host has previously delighted customers with appearances at the pub, judging a cake baking competition in January 2020, after spending the Christmas at the inn
The baking guru was in his element as he judged the cakes while entrants and fans watched on at The Chequers Inn, Smarden
It is not clear whether any of the Spalding family intend to live in the property after it is turned into a house, or whether it would be sold.
Slamming locals in the planning meeting, Mrs Hollywood fumed: ‘Unfortunately the last six months have shown us the worst in people’s behaviour.
‘The personal insults and attacks have been unforgivable. We have owned and run The Chequers Inn for nearly 17 years and put our heart and souls into it.
‘Ask yourself, would you work a 12 to 16 hour shift every day just to make a loss, and would you do it if you were 80 years old with a life-threatening heart condition?’
She said their hope was that a buyer would buy the pub to continue running it as a boozer, but that they should have a safety net should the business not work out.
Responding to their comments, she continued: ‘We have been left with no other choice than to close at the end of the month as funds have run out.’
She added: ‘The community pub committee has since gone quiet. We have seen no evidence of any pledges from villagers to commit their hard-earned money to a scheme that offers little or no return on their investment. Also there is no evidence of any government funding being offered towards the cost of buying the business.
‘They have said that they will not be moving forward with the process until a decision is reached this evening. They have all iterated that they themselves have no desire to get involved with the every-day running of the business or the management side of things, but instead they are saying that they just want Ito remain open so they can come in for a drink occasionally.
Outside, the pub boasts a pub garden overlooking the village church and a large carp pond
The Chequers Inn pub has seven rooms and a large two-bedroom owner’s accommodation
‘Unfortunately the pub cannot survive on people drinking once or twice a week – it needs a steady flow of locals using it regularly for meals and other social activities.’
Speaking after the council meeting earlier this week, one local told MailOnline: ‘It is a travesty. It will ruin the village.
‘I hope it makes them both very happy and a lot of money. But this will leave the village in a much worse-off position.
‘What message does this send out to other places and villagers?
‘What sort of importance is being placed on pubs in communities these days? None at all.
‘I really hoped it could be kept as a pub and be the hub of the village.
‘Instead it will be a home. I am sure it will be a lovely home but it will not benefit the rest of the village.’
Hollywood reportedly met Ms Spalding at the pub four years ago, and she has been the landlady for 16 years.
The TV host has previously delighted customers with appearances at the pub, judging a cake baking competition in January 2020, after spending the Christmas at the inn.
Hollywood said that they had received one offer for the pub but it was ‘not realistic’
The boozer’s website says they will be open as normal until August 31
And in 2021 he was pictured hard at work during a night shift in the diner’s kitchen as he made pizzas for hungry diners.
Wearing a white jacket and black striped apron he worked the production line, selling the Italian dishes for £13 each.
An onlooker told The Sun: ‘The restaurant was busy and Paul seemed to be a hit with customers.’
With a varied menu, punters can enjoy anything from a £25 three-course set menu to a £30 rib-eye steak alongside a bijou selection of elevated pub grub.
Beef burgers and fish and chips cost £17, while a fish cake costs a pricey £18 and a Sunday roast is sold for between £18.50 and £19.50.
Rooms at the pub are in the ‘historical style of a 14th Century Coaching Inn’ – and go from £120 a night for bed and breakfast. The poshest stay – the Guinevere package – includes a king size bed, a free standing brass bath and a separate large shower room for £165 a night.
Outside, it boasts a pub garden overlooking the village church and a large carp pond.
The boozer’s website says they will be open as normal until August 31.
While the TV personality initially denied the romance when it was first revealed, the now-Mrs Hollywood’s car was reportedly seen on the drive outside his nearby home, a £1million Grade II listed pile.
Spalding temporarily moved into into the 18th Century four-bedroom farmhouse in April 2020, with the couple growing closer as Britain was plunged into national lockdown during the pandemic.
Friends later claimed they were living together on a permanent basis at the property, originally purchased while Hollywood was dating Summer Monteys-Fullam.
Spalding and Monteys-Fullam had been friends for years, having lived close to one another in rural Kent.
The pair tied the knot in October 2023, in a Byzantine style chapel set in the grounds of Cyprus’ most exclusive hotel.
Friends said the couple started dating after Hollywood’s split from Summer Monteys-Fullam in August 2019, who he had met in 2018 at another nearby pub.
The chef and his former partner Alex split in 2017, with their 20-year marriage ending in divorce in 2019.