Residents of Upper Objection lodged 38 formal objections with the district council in 48 hours after a laminated notice appeared on the lamppost outside the Red Lion. The notice was, it later emerged, the pub's autumn menu.
The alarm was raised by Vice-Chair Margaret Pemberton-Quill, who spotted the notice while "patrolling" and photographed it from a distance, as is her practice, "so they can't say I tampered with it". She posted the photograph to the chapter's Facebook group with the caption "THIS IS HOW IT STARTS", and members began objecting within the hour.
I didn't read it. You don't read them. You object first and read later, otherwise you've lost a day. That's basic.Margaret Pemberton-Quill, N.O.B.
Objections received by the council included concerns about traffic, the "sheer scale of the fish", noise from what one member assumed was a proposed "small plates" development, and light pollution from the word "Specials". Derek Turnstile objected on highways grounds, noting that the notice did not include a transport assessment. Dr Barnaby Slough asked whether the mussels had been surveyed.
The landlord, who had put the menu up because the blackboard "got rained on", has apologised for the confusion and offered members a free pudding. The offer has been declined on the grounds that it would set a precedent.
The chapter has not withdrawn its objections. "We stand by them," said Mrs Pemberton-Quill. "Nobody consulted us on the fish. And if you read the wording of the sticky toffee pudding, it's clearly the thin end of the wedge."
The council has confirmed that it received the objections and has filed them under "other".