Plans to turn a North Yorkshire village pub into homes have been rejected by council planners who heard the business was “vibrant and lively” before its closure.
Permission was sought from North Yorkshire Council to change the use of the Arden Arms at Atley Hill, near Scorton, into housing.
The plans would have seen the roadside pub turned into three three-bedroom properties with three extensions built at the rear of the pub.
Supporting documents submitted with the application stated that the pub had struggled to be a viable business before closing in March 2023.
But a council report concluded that while the pub had been closed and had not made a profit at times over the last 20 years under the applicant’s ownership, the pub had been run successfully by tenants during that time.
This included the last tenants who ran the pub for five years from 2017.
The applicant submitted information on their unsuccessful attempts to sell the business.
But consultants appointed by the council concluded that the guide price of £750,000 was higher than its value as a pub.
The consultants added that an offer of £200,000, which was received by the owner, was more “in line with a figure which we would expect to be put on the table to purchase a public house, in the state and condition that these premises are today”.
The council received 46 objections from local residents to the change of use.
Locals said the pub was a viable, profitable and thriving business before it closed.
Others described the Arden Arms as a “vibrant and lively” pub with a lot of history and a good reputation, while others said it was a vital community pub.
When asked about the level of opposition to the application, the owner told the council they were the result of a “hate campaign”, with local residents being intimidated into objecting.
The council said it did not receive further evidence to support this allegation.
Planning office Ian Nesbit said in his report: “Based on the details and evidence submitted with the application as well as additional information available to the council from other sources, it has not been reasonably or satisfactorily demonstrated by the applicant that the existing public house is no longer financially or operationally viable, or that there is no reasonable prospect of securing a viable satisfactory alternative community use.”
He added: “The loss of the Arden Arms premises as a community facility in this context will result in significant harm to the social and recreational well-being and sustainability of the local community, a harm that is not outweighed (either individually or cumulatively) by any public benefits
associated with the proposed development.”
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