Plans to convert a former pub into a house in a Cumbrian village have been turned down after it was ruled the proposals would lead to the loss of the only remaining potential local community facility.
Members of Eden local area planning committee for Westmorland and Furness Council refused a planning application to convert the vacant Belah Bridge Inn into a three-bedroom house.
The vacant pub was described as a fairly substantial building and is located in Brough Sowerby off the A685 which connects the M6 and the A66.
Applicant Stephen O’Donoghue told the committee the pub was falling into disrepair and said he did not have the money to turn it into a running pub.
But a report by planning officers said: “The proposed change of use from public house to a private dwelling would cause the loss of the only remaining potential local community facility / rural resource in Brough Sowerby.
“Its loss to housing would invoke the permanent removal of a prominent and long-established public house with the potential to help sustain the social quality of the area, and reducing sustainability within the locale as there are no alternative facilities within everyday walking distance.”
In planning documents, the applicants said it had been ‘heart breaking’ not to be able to pass the business onto a new team and see it stand empty.
A statement from the applicant added: “Unfortunately, no matter how hard you work during the summer in this area, it is increasingly challenging to pull you through the winter lull.
“The Belah Bridge Inn has stood empty for five years now and it would be a shame for it to continue, sadly if it remains empty it will be problematic for us to sustain the building.”
Development management officer Mark Lynch told the committee it was incumbent on the applicant to demonstrate that it was no longer viable.
A report by planning officers added: “The evidence submitted is deemed insufficient in demonstrating that the site has been successfully marketed beyond November 2019, and that the property could not be taken forward in the future as a commercial undertaking in the hands of suitable custodians.”
Chairman of Brough Sowerby Parish Meeting Mike Collins said the parish overwhelmingly objected to the proposals.
He told the committee they have had 88 signatures, along with anecdotes from villagers, TripAdvisor and Facebook entries, which showed the pub, when it was open, was an attractive place to eat and socialise.
Mr Collins added: “The pub was an asset until its closure in 2018 and can become so again in the hands of suitable custodians.”
Mr O’Donoghue told the committee the pub was on the market until the back end of last year and the applicants had been in touch with the estate agents ‘numerous times’ to provide the details. He added he was ‘very disappointed’ not to be able to provide these details.
The applicant said the pub was a ‘mess’ when they took over and added: “We put a lot of effort in cleaning up and tidying up.”
He said: “The 90 signatures that you’ve got from the local community, if only they came in once a week and spent £30, it’s nearly £3,000 a week that we’d be taking from the local community and the pub would not be shut.”
“It’s falling into disrepair, lets get it tidied up, let’s make it a nice building for the community rather than let it go to wrack and ruin, because I don’t have the sort of money to put into it to bring it back to a running pub.”
The plans received five letters of objections with one stating a village pub is at the very heart of any community.
In planning documents, the parish council added: “Following the submission of this application, the parish has met and has discussed further the opportunity to acquire the public house and run it as a community asset.
“This is a meaningful change in the position of the parish, and we are now progressing with a business plan to take this forward.”
Members of Eden local area planning committee refused the planning application on May 8 at Penrith Town Hall.
