What did Russell Brand do? Actor makes locals furious after revealing plans to turn 800-year-old pub into a studio

Russell Brand is allegedly trying to convert a historic bar into a studio and offices. The comedian and his wife, Laura Gallacher, reportedly bought The Crown Inn pub, a village pub, in 2020 in Pishill, near Henley, for £850,000.

The pub is a Grade II-listed building and is the only pub in the village of Pishill in Oxon. As per The Mirror reports from 2022, Russell Brand planned to turn the establishment into a vegan restaurant. The Forgetting Sarah Marshall actor has adopted a vegan lifestyle since 2019.

A local told The Sun in 2022:

"We've heard he's planning to turn the pub into a vegan restaurant. Why would anybody want that? He clearly never had any intention of using the pub as a pub. He doesn't even drink alcohol. Why buy a pub if you don't like to drink?"

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What other plans does Russell Brand have for the old pub

As per Yahoo News, the actor plans to build a recording studio on the pub property, where he will be recording his YouTube videos. The property reportedly includes outdoor seating, a two-bedroom cottage, a detached barn, a garage, and a car park.

According to The Sun, Brand applied to convert the garage to the South Oxfordshire District Council last year. As per Yahoo News, the ground and first floor of the pub would be reportedly built as offices under Brand's plans. He submitted an application to convert the pub to South Oxfordshire District Council last November.

Locals are however not happy with Russell Brand's plans. The BNN Breaking also said that local residents were unhappy with Russell Brand's decision to convert the old pub and accused the actor of depriving the community of a vital social pub.

Additionally, they also raised concerns that building a new vegan restaurant could result in increased traffic along with the loss of a treasured community asset. To showcase their stance against the building of a new vegan restaurant, the villagers of Pishill have rallied and made demands that either the pub be reinstated as a communal space or put back on the market for sale.

The comedian and actor had earlier in September 2023 installed security fencing covered with hessian fabric outside the Crown Hill. However, he was forced to remove the fencing after South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, claimed that the fence was a breach of planning control.

Russell Brand had also angered the Pishill community in 2021 after he was allegedly accused of ruining a couple's wedding plans at the 15th-century pub.

According to The Mirror, a couple claimed that Brand refused to take over any wedding bookings at the pub made prior to his name above the door. Stephanie Wareham and Stephen Hare booked their wedding day at the venue for May 28, 2022, and were disappointed after their venue was canceled just before Christmas 2021.

Brand faces a troubled reputation in Pishill as his announcement comes while he's facing allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse.