Final push to save pub named after Dickie Bird

Campaigners have made a last-ditch attempt to save a village pub named after a Yorkshire sporting legend after its owners applied to convert it into homes.

The Dickie Bird in Thwaites Brow, near Keighley, is listed as an Asset of Community Value by Bradford Council, meaning local people were given the option to buy it to run themselves before it went on the open market.

Residents raised £100,000 for a community takeover bid, but were unable to meet the £650,000 asking price and its owners have sought permission for the change of use.

Villager Wendy Harrison said: "We've lost a lot of infrastructure here. People just want somewhere local they can walk to and socialise in."

The pub was renamed following a refurbishment in 2011 to celebrate cricket umpire Dickie Bird, an honour he said at the time he was "humbled" by. He died last year.

The building was put up for sale by its private owners, Colin and Bev Cooney, although it is listed by agents David Hill as a commercial concern with Asset of Community Value restrictions which protect its use as a pub.

In April 2025 the Cooneys submitted applications to Bradford Council to convert the ground floor of the pub into a flat and build four further dwellings in the garden and they will be decided by councillors today.

They have scaled back an earlier scheme to build seven homes on the site, which was rejected.

After the proposal was submitted, 334 people objected.

One objection, included in papers going before decision makers later, says: "For many people in the village the Dickie Bird pub supports their wellbeing and reduces isolation - the pub is their only social interaction."

However the report to the planning committee said the applicant had highlighted "ample opportunities for social engagement within the local area that do not rely on this premises".

Campaigners said the building could still be used as a community venue, pointing to its role as a place for people to meet and its links to nearby sports clubs including the village cricket club.

Harrison, who chairs the Long Lee and Thwaites Brow Village Society, said: "We've only got one church, one pub, one doctors' surgery, one school, one bus service.

"It's a small village and it's growing. People just want to walk to the local pub and meet each other."

She added: "We raised more than £100,000, but it just wasn't enough. The asking price is £650,000, we can't get anywhere near that.

"We are a tiny village, it's going to be difficult to raise that kind of money."

Harrison and others will present their case at Bradford City Hall later and are urging the owners to "make something of the pub".

"We just want someone to come in with a new business plan. Make it a proper local pub again, somewhere people can go for food and bring in visitors. It could be a fantastic little spot.

"We've got wonderful walks all around here - this could be a fantastic little place for tourists if it was run properly."

In their report to councillors, planning officers acknowledged there was "a strong level of public interest around this application and resistance to the principle of the closure of the public house and its subsequent conversion".

However officers also stressed that the pub "has been marketed for sale for a considerable period without any serious offers, and no expressions of interest through the ACV process have been received".

The report pointed out that the current owners had seen "a distinct fall-off in trade since the neighbouring cricket club at Long Lee was granted a premises licence to serve alcohol".

This has had "a significant negative impact on seasonal trading and this coupled together with changing patterns of social drinking makes it harder for a business like the Dickie Bird to remain a viable proposition".

The report recommends approval of the planning application, stressing that: "The evidence indicates the pub is unlikely to reopen as a viable business and a change to residential use is justified in these circumstances."

The case highlights wider pressures facing pubs across Yorkshire and the UK.

According to the British Beer and Pub Association, the number of pubs in the UK has steadily decreased every year since 2000.

More recent analysis of government statistics shows 366 pubs across the UK were lost in the past year, with many buildings only viable for conversion or demolition.

The Bradford Council planning panel will decide on the Dickie Bird pub application later today.

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