To local residents, customers and friends, concerning the Planning Application for a Change in Use from Retail to Mixed at Old Butcher’s Wine Cellar (“OBWC”) in Cookham High Street.

As residents of Cookham High Street and the surrounding village we have long valued the presence of OBWC and the service it provides to us as a community hub through its shop and wine bar. Many of us are frequent visitors and use it as a place to meet our fellow villagers and friends and keep the community together. The owners Paul and Angela Stratford have had a business on Cookham High Street for over 30 years and are very much a part of the community, we greatly appreciate the way that they support the village and facilitate our community togetherness and spirit.

A planning application has been submitted to RBWM Council. We, the local community, fully support this application and would be grateful if its review and acceptance could be completed as quickly as possible to enable this much loved and valued local facility to be re-opened in full. We understand that it is a key government strategy and priority to support small businesses and help them to recover from the significant losses faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The owners of OBWC are currently losing a large proportion of their revenue through their inability to re-open the wine bar part of the business and so the business as a whole remains at risk whilst this this does not happen.

Thank you for your support.