A legendary pub famed for being the birthplace of Pink Floyd has been saved from being bulldozed but is now set to be dwarfed by a huge £500million office block next door.
asserted
pub → fame → door
The tiny Cambridge pub Flying Pig is shown to be standing in the shadow of a vast modern block, towering more than 100ft above the early-Victorian boozer in new pictures.
asserted
pub → show → pictures
The building - marketed as 1 Botanic Place - is right behind the pub, engulfing its small neighbour.
asserted
building → market → neighbour
It is due to stand 32 metres (105ft) high when its development is finished.
asserted
development → stand → metres
Former landlady Justine Hatfield, 56, who ran the Pig with husband Matt for 24 years, said: 'It's just crazy and it looks nuts.
asserted
it → run → years
I hate the buildings around it, because they represent the destruction of something we loved.
asserted
we → hate → something
I live nearby, but I always go a very long way round the pub so I don't have to pass it now because it makes me cry.'
asserted
me → live → it
Mrs Hatfield, a mother of two, said only around 20 per cent of the pub she once knew now remains, with the back garden being torn up by developers.
asserted
garden → say → developers
Speaking of her time as landlady, she said: 'They were 24 of the happiest years of my life.
asserted
They → speak → life
My kids grew up there.
asserted
kids → grow → ?
The tiny Flying Pig pub in Cambridge - famed as the birthplace of Pink Floyd - was spared demolition, but now it has been engulfed by a towering office block
Former landlady Justine Hatfield, 56, said only 20 per cent of the pub she once loved now remains.
asserted
she → fame → pub
She added: 'I hate the buildings around it, because they represent the destruction of something we loved'
asserted
we → add → something
Syd Barrett met future guitarist David Gilmour at the pub in the flat upstairs
'
asserted
Barrett → meet → flat
It was known for live music - and we had a lot of it.
asserted
we → know → it
It went down in Cambridge history.'
asserted
It → go → history
A pub has stood on the spot since at least 1844, when it was recorded as The Engineer, later becoming The Crown Inn in 1860.
asserted
it → stand → 1860
Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett drank there when it was The Crown and is said to have met future Floyd guitarist David Gilmour there.
Now a radio presenter, Mrs Hatfield said: 'I have it on good authority from Syd Barrett's sister that he met other members of Pink Floyd in the flat upstairs.'
The pub became The Flying Pig around 1991 under landlord Mick Clelford, nicknamed 'Mick the Pig', who held a pilot's licence - so the name was not inspired by the giant inflatable pig flying above Battersea Power Station on Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals.
Its candlelit rooms, real ale, walls crammed with posters and pig memorabilia and regular live gigs turned it into a Cambridge institution.
asserted
rooms → drink → institution
Justine said: 'We had people travelling from all over the world to see the legendary Flying Pig and catch some of the live music.
asserted
people → say → music
'It was a joy to run and I enjoyed every single one of those 24 years.
asserted
I → run → years
But redevelopment plans hung over the pub for more than a decade.
asserted
plans → hang → decade
A petition to stop it being demolished gathered 14,500 signatures, so developers Pace Investments redesigned their plans to keep more of the building, saying public pressure had played a part.
Justine said: 'The shock of finding out that someone would want to do that to such a beautiful place was completely overwhelming.
'The community fought very hard for it.'
The Hatfields finally shut the doors in October 2021.
Justine said: 'We had a big music evening.
asserted
We → stop → evening
I didn't advertise it as the last night because I knew we would be absolutely swamped.
asserted
we → advertise → night
We all cried.
asserted
We → cry → ?
We had to make all of the staff redundant.
asserted
all → have → staff
After the public pressure from a petition saved the pub building, developers are due to reopen it and have begun refurbishment works.
asserted
developers → save → works
It is due to open in early 2028 alongside the offices
asserted
It → open → offices
The redevelopment was allowed on appeal in March 2022, and the site was later acquired by Railpen, with Socius developing the 500,000 sq ft Botanic Place scheme.
asserted
Socius → allow → scheme
Socius says the Pig has been retained following popular demand and will be refurbished as a 2,090 sq ft pub with a 1,890 sq ft beer garden, with Botanic Place due to be ready in early 2028.
asserted
Place → say → 2028
The old building has been braced internally with structural steel during construction.
asserted
building → brace → construction
A fresh planning application lodged in July proposes removing the former landlord accommodation to create a double-height trading space, alongside other alterations.
asserted
application → lodge → alterations
It is still awaiting a decision.
asserted
It → await → decision
But Justine and Matt have been told they will not be returning.
asserted
they → tell → ?
She said: 'Every day I get asked by someone when I'm going to go back.
asserted
I → say → someone
I'm sad we're not there anymore, but all I can say is that we have years of fantastic memories.'
asserted
we → say → memories
The Aporia
