Riverside pub Bell & Crown closes for six weeks for refurbishment

Pub to add glass windows to the outside seating area so it can be used all year round

The Bell & Crown at Strand on the Green will be closing on 4 January for a period of six weeks for refurbishment.

The popular riverside pub was recently the location for the MobLand film crew who were filming at Strand on the Green and at the old police station in Chiswick for a couple of weeks before Christmas.

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The pub is closing so they can put windows into the enclosed seating area on the riverside and add more covers to the restaurant all year round, freeing up the space inside the pub to make more room for drinkers who are not sitting down to eat, general manager Fiona Sparkes told The Chiswick Calendar.

At the moment the space is enclosed only with plastic sheeting, making it too cold to use in winter. The new windows will be capable of being folded back, so they can be fully open when it is warm enough.

Fuller’s applied once before for planning permission to extend the conservatory but met opposition from the Strand on the Green Association, which was when they decided instead to have the present plastic covers put over it in inclement weather, which has not proved satisfactory either from a warmth or an aesthetic perspective.

They had to dismantle the extension they put up in 2019 because they did not receive retrospective planning permission.

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This time round the Strand on the Green Association has made no objection, saying the plan is in keeping with the style of the existing building.

The pub will close at 6pm on Sunday 4 January; last orders at 5pm. The aim is to be open again on Friday 20 February, ready for the Brentford – Arsenal match on 21 February. The pub is also having new toilets installed and a general refresh, says Fiona.

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