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The Air Balloon, Birdlip

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Coordinates: 51°50′36″N 02°05′48″W / 51.84333°N 2.09667°W / 51.84333; -2.09667
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The pub in 2007

The Air Balloon was a public house and road junction at Birdlip, Gloucestershire, England and closed in 2022 as part of road improvements. It was on the A417 at a significant congestion point.

Location

The pub was situated next to a roundabout junction with the A417, a major road between Swindon and Gloucester via Cirencester.[1] The A436 meets the A417 at this point; the two roads together form a de facto bypass of Cheltenham between Oxford and Gloucester.[2]

History

View of the pub from the A417

The pub opened in 1784 and is probably named after one of the first British balloon flights: the launching of a small hydrogen balloon by Edward Jenner on 2 September 1784, which flew from Berkeley Castle to Kingscote and then on to a field near Birdlip,[3][4] the year after the pioneering flights of the Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon and Jacques Charles's hydrogen balloon in Paris.[1] It was known as the Balloon by 1796 and renamed the Air Balloon in 1802.[5] By 1856, the landlord was brewing beer on-site.[1] The premises were part of the Cowley Manor Estate until some time early in the twentieth century. The pub was bought by Greene King in 2004.[6] In 2020 the menu included burgers, steaks, vegetarian food, "pub classics" and a lunchtime carvery.[7]

Closure

The pub was under threat of demolition as it sat alongside a short section of single-carriageway road which is otherwise a high-quality route between the M4 and M5 motorways.[8][9] Although the junction has been said to be a notorious accident blackspot; from 1999 to 2014 there were an estimated 340 casualties along the whole section of road and National Highways said was below average for the type of road.[10]

In March 2019, Highways England proposed improvements that would include demolition of the pub.[11][12] Highways England has ruled out a junction at the Air Balloon as the local geography and steep hills nearby would make it impossible to build a high-quality road meeting modern safety standards.[13] The road could not be routed anywhere else as it would cut through Barrow Wake, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[14] Highways England stated that it would talk to landowners and assess the social impact of the pub's demolition in a further design stage.[15] As of June 2021, the pub was open, but still expected to be demolished.[16] The landlord subsequently announced in December 2022 that the pub would close on New Year's Eve, and then it will be demolished.[17][18]

Actor John Challis' widow said the couple used to visit the pub regularly, and she was sad to see it close.[19]

Future

A spokesperson for Highways England expressed surprise at the pub's closure, saying it could have stayed open longer. There are additional concerns that a now-closed prominent landmark could become a magnet for vandalism.[20]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Sandles 2012, p. 14.
  2. ^ "A40". Hansard. 18 April 1996. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Edward Jenner in Kingscote – Kingscote Online".
  4. ^ "Air Balloon Heritage". 17 February 2019.
  5. ^ Norris, Phil (30 March 2019). "Pub earmarked to be flattened says 'we're not going anywhere yet'". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  6. ^ "The Air Balloon Pub, Birdlip". Visit Gloucestershire. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Our review of the Air Balloon pub that's due to be demolished for A417 'missing link' project". Gloucestershire Live. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  8. ^ Hughes, Janet (15 February 2018). "Landmark pub to be bulldozed for controversial new superhighway". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  9. ^ "A417 missing link". Improvements and major road projects. Highways England. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Route chosen for accident blackspot road". BBC News. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  11. ^ Ross, Alex (14 March 2019). "Decided: This is the final plan to end the Air Balloon traffic nightmare in Gloucestershire". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Have your say on final details for the A417 Missing Link scheme". Highway England. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  13. ^ A417 Missing Link 2019, p. 35.
  14. ^ A417 Missing Link 2019, p. 36.
  15. ^ A417 Missing Link 2019, p. 56.
  16. ^ "Major milestone passed for A417 missing link road plans at Air Balloon roundabout". Gloucestershire Live. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Air Balloon pub announces closure date as it makes way for A417 Missing Link scheme". Gloucestershire Live. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Air Balloon: Landmark pub to close forever on New Year's Eve". BBC News. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Air Balloon pub closure 'saddens' widow of Only Fools and Horses star". Gloucestershire Live. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Air Balloon pub's shock closure takes highways chiefs by surprise". Gloucestershire Live. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

Sources

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51°50′36″N 02°05′48″W / 51.84333°N 2.09667°W / 51.84333; -2.09667

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