A DISPUTE surrounding a carpet bearing the Barry Town Crest has been noted as the most ‘extreme’ in the history of the pub chain involved.

JD Wetherspoon boss, Tim Martin met Barry Town Council (BTC) councillors, at a full council meeting on Monday, January 20 to discuss the use of the town crest in The Sir Samuel Romilly pub, in Broad Street, Barry.

Councillors invited Mr Martin to attend the meeting from which press and public were barred.

But the minutes of the meeting have now been made public.

Barry mayor, Cllr Margaret Wilkinson opened the meeting with the following statement: “On 12 July 2019 Barry Town Council received a letter from the architects responsible for the installation of the carpet bearing the Barry Town Council Armorial Bearings (Coat of Arms) at The Sir Samuel Romilly, Barry (local Wetherspoon). The letter requested retrospective permission for use of the council’s coat of arms on a carpet, which had already been laid. There had been no earlier request though a request ought to have been made before plans were made.”

BTC refused the request on July 22, 2019.

The Minutes state: “Tim Martin noted that he had been unaware he would be asked to make a statement to the council. He advised members that he had attended the meeting a he understood council had requested he attend. He noted that he felt the situation with the use of the crest had gotten out of hand and it had been difficult for either party to retreat.”

The Minutes further state: “He noted that there had not been a situation this extreme in JD Wetherspoon’s history and felt that it was important to reach a resolution. Mr Martin added that he felt there was tremendous public support for the pub and the carpet remaining in situ.

“He noted that he felt it was not necessary to get into an argument over a small area of carpet. He also noted that he felt that the public’s perception was that the council was being too extreme in requesting a specially designed carpet to be removed. He added that he would be happy for the carpet to be replaced with an alternative when it had reached the end of its life.”

Councillors resolved to wait for a letter from JD Wetherspoon outlining options for a resolution to the dispute.