Planning Approval for Public House Change of use to Dwelling, Annexe and upgrading of existing letting rooms

Permission granted for a Public House change of use to a dwelling, associated annexe, medical consulting rooms along with the retention and upgrade of the existing letting rooms on site.

This former rural pub had been falling into decline for several years. A previous change of use application for a nursery had failed at appeal due to access issues, in 2019. Since this time the pub was marketed without success until our clients purchased it in March 2021.

Active engagement with Ward Councillors, the Parish Council and Neighbouring occupiers, ensured key stakeholders were aware and kept informed of the upcoming proposal and their inputs were welcomed. Despite a negative and policy led pre-application response, we felt we had a strong enough case to proceed with a full planning application.

The key issues to address were those relating to the principle of development, location outside settlement boundaries, being within a National Park and the loss of a public house. It is well documented that there is strict policy criteria for public house retention, given they are seen as key social and community hubs, especially for rural communities. Such restrictive policy required 24 months of marketing evidence to demonstrate a lack of demand for the public house or an alternative community use on site, before looking at residential potential.  

Plainview were able to present the case that despite a lack of the required 24 months of marketing evidence, the previous planning history, submission of a robust viability report and more recent marketing evidence would be enough to demonstrate a lack of demand and the continued decline of the pub had left it in a poor state of repair. It was demonstrated that without extensive demolition and refurbishment to retain the principle building it would likely collapse and result in a redundant eyesore within the National Park. To rectify this, the proposal sought to provide a new family sized dwelling within the main pub building – including medical consulting rooms, annexe to replace the former function room and upgrade of the existing letting room facilities. These will provide a wealth of benefits to the site through the provision of housing and support for multigenerational living, allocated home working space and economic benefits through rural tourism as part of improved facilities to attract visitors to the National Park for recreation.

The mix of uses on the site and the current condition of the building were seen to represent important material considerations which tipped the balance in favour of the application’s approval, despite the policy conflict with the pub retention and marketing policy. The proposal also had a wealth of local support from both neighbours and the Parish Council – demonstrating the important of early consultation with key stakeholders.

We are delighted to have assisted our client on this scheme and highlight with the right site and correct strategy approach, changes of use for public houses can be achievable.

Should you wish to discuss any future opportunities or gain assistance with any public house change of use applications, please get in touch with our planning team via enquiries@plainview.co.uk.

IMAGE SOURCE: Lawson Architecture