Landlord faces legal action over pub mural

The mural was painted on the 17th Century pub in April

A landlord who commissioned a painting of a bull on the side of his 17th Century pub has been threatened with legal action by a council.

Martin Peel, the owner of The Bull's Head in Wootton Wawen, Warwickshire, was told by Stratford-upon-Avon District Council that the 8ft mural of a Herefordshire bull breached planning rules for listed properties.

Mr Peel now has four weeks to paint over the £1,200 mural before facing legal action.

"They told me it was a criminal act as I didn't have planning permission. I feel quite naive about that now," he said.

"I was naive not to realise painting also came under planning. That is the truth. I lived in Asia for 20 years and have never owned a property in the UK."

The landlord, who has run the Grade II listed pub for three years, said that the council told him he could not apply for retrospective planning permission for the mural.

He has now consulted with a local planner, instructed lawyers to investigate appealing against the decision, and has launched a petition for the council to allow the mural to remain.

"We respect that the council has enough to do and lots of wonderful heritage in the area to protect, but we don't think we're doing anything to degrade this," he told the BBC.

The mural was created by Phil Taylor, an artist from Leamington Spa who has worked in the business for more than 40 years, and the artwork was completed in April.

Mr Peel said the mural was beautiful and "really enhanced the pub".

Phil Taylor painted the mural of the Hereford bull on the pub

"Local customers who frequent the pub, they love it. They say it's put the pub back on the map," he said.

"The pub had been failing for a long, long time. We spoke to residents and there were lots of people driving through the area not realising it was a pub.

"Over 500 pubs closed their doors last year and 80 already in 2024, I cannot stress enough how critical awareness is to our business."

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Stratford-upon-Avon District Council said: "Unfortunately we don’t comment on live enforcement cases."