Demolition plans for an 'eyesore' former Staffordshire pub to face a block - here's why
Plans to demolish an ‘eyesore’ former Staffordshire pub and replace it with a farm shop and cafe are set to be blocked.
The New Inn in Denford Road, Longsdon, in the Staffordshire Moorlands, closed 17 years ago and is now in a semi-derelict state.
Upperdales Developers Ltd is proposing to replace the pub with a larger two-storey building housing a shop and cafe, with an adjacent field being turned into a 75-space car park. According to the applicants, the development would create the equivalent of 50 full-time jobs, boost the local economy and remove an eyesore building.
While 70 per cent of the development site, including most of land earmarked for parking, lies within the Green Belt, the applicant says it meets the definition of ‘grey belt’ and that very special circumstances exist to justify the proposals. But planning officers at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council disagree, and have recommended the application for refusal.
Planning committee members originally considered the proposals last year, but agreed to defer the application so further talks could take place with the applicant. The application now includes a ‘grey belt statement’ and a design and access statement, while a number of changes have been made to the plans.
These include setting the building down by around a metre, so the eaves level of the new building would be similar to the existing pub’s.
In their grey belt statement, the applicants argue that the land does not strongly contribute to the purposes of the Green Belt, and therefore meets the definition of grey belt, meaning development could be appropriate. They also say the development would address a ‘demonstratable unmet need’ for farm shops and cafes in the area.
The application states: “People have never been so interested in quality local food and how it is produced, in freshness and in traceability. Customers are seeking out specialist food producers and for some there is a desire to reduced food miles.
“There is little if any comparable provision within the district to that proposed as part of this application. The proposal would provide facilities which would accord with and be of an appropriate type to meet the demonstrable unmet need.”
Planning officers agree that the land meets the definition of grey belt, but they still think the development would be inappropriate. In their report to the planning committee, they say that the applicant has not demonstrated there is an unmet need for the proposed businesses, and that the out-of-town rural location would only have ‘very limited’ travel sustainability.
Officers also question the claim that the scheme would create 50 full-time jobs, saying that 26 to 35 jobs would be more realistic.
The report states: “The proposal has been found to be inappropriate development in the Green Belt which is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt. There would also be harm to openness, one of the essential characteristics of the Green Belt by replacing field land with a car park.
“The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open. The development would have an expansive urbanising effect.”
Previous plans to convert the pub into two homes and build two more homes next to it were approved in 2016. While this scheme was never completed, officers say the ‘loss’ of much-needed housing in the area also counts against the new plans.
Members of the planning committee will consider the application when they meet on Thursday.
