The Air Balloon, Birdlip

[1] The A436 meets the A417 at this point; the two roads together form a de facto bypass of Cheltenham between Oxford and Gloucester.

[7] 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.

[10] In March 2019, Highways England proposed improvements that would include demolition of the pub,[11][12] stating that the local geography and steep hills made it otherwise impossible to build a high-quality road meeting modern safety standards.

[14] Highways England stated that it would consult landowners and assess the social impact of the pub's demolition in a further design stage.

[19] A spokesperson for Highways England expressed surprise at the pub's closure, saying it could have stayed open longer.