A disused Swindon pub which used to be a hotspot for anti-social behaviour has a new prospective owner.

The Crumpled Horn, which was in Eldene for nearly 50 years, was boarded up with metal sheeting in May 2023 after being used as a base for organised crime gangs.

Since then the Grade II-listed building has been abandoned, with residents describing it as an “eyesore” and a “disgusting dumping ground” on social media and many locals disappointed about the decline of the pub.

The Crumpled Horn in Eldene The Crumpled Horn in Eldene (Image: Dave Cox)

But last weekend, Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander met with a local businesswoman and Councillor Marianne Le Coyte Grinney to discuss renovating the space.

Karen from Swindon Party Warehouse has proposed plans to transform the former troublesome venue into a home for her children’s party business, to give back to the local community and create a positive and safe space for children to play.

Heidi posted: “Sometimes you meet people who have brilliant business ideas, which could utterly transform empty and problem buildings at the same time.

“Today, Cllr Marianne Le Coyte Grinney and I met with Karen from Swindon Party Warehouse who would like to turn the old Crumpled Horn pub in Eldene into a magical new home for her children’s party business.

“I can’t help but think that this problem pub might be the only Grade 2 listed building in the country that resembles a Gnome House – I can see how it would make an incredible space for a children’s party business though!

“There are planning issues that would need to be properly worked through and business plans to be pulled together but it is brilliant news that someone is thinking about how we can put some life back into this building and move on from the crime and anti-social behaviour that have blighted it for so long.”

Cllr Marianne Le Coyte Grinney added: “I was so impressed with what Karen has built with such care and attention.

“It will be wonderful if we can help Karen move her business to a new home and rewrite the script for the Crumpled Horn.”

On March 14, 2023, Wiltshire Police issued the venue with a court-ordered closure, forcing it to close for six weeks due to the levels of illegal activity that were taking place, prompted by an incident four days earlier when a group of men entered the building wielding machetes.