The only pub in a Nottinghamshire village looks set to survive controversial plans to demolish it and build new houses. The Gardeners Inn, in Cossall, near Ilkeston, was closed in February this year, with plans submitted to knock it down and build five detached houses.
Former landlady Sue Maxwell, who ran The Gardeners Inn since 2015, found out the pub had been sold to two new landlords, who intended on redeveloping the site, in July 2021. After her lease expired in February this year the pub was fenced off and boarded up.
But now, ahead of a Broxtowe Borough Council planning committee on September 7, planning officers have recommended the plans should be rejected. A planning officer said a 'significantly high number' of objections had been raised, with the pub serving as a local community facility.
Read more: Memories of the only pub in a village which could be knocked down
A site notice was posted and neighbouring properties were consulted, the council receiving 73 objections and one letter of support in response. In a planning document, a council planning officer added "public houses are long established commercial premises, which form an integral part of the area’s identity".
The Gardener’s Inn was previously listed as an asset of community value. But in 2021 it was removed from the list as it was judged that there was no evidence of realistic continued use.
In a planning committee report, an officer said the applicant had been given the opportunity to demonstrate there was no viable need to continue operating the public house. But no viability assessment or evidence demonstrating any decline in sales in recent years was submitted to the council.
Evidence submitted to justify the loss the pub house included reference to a number of local news articles relating to local interest in preserving the public house. The applicant has claimed the previous occupier of the public house had removed/damaged the internal facilities of the building - an accusation which Sue Maxwell has strongly denied as "utter slander", explaining the fixtures and fittings had belonged to the brewery.
A Broxtowe Borough Council planning officer said the "benefits of the scheme are that the proposal would provide new housing for the Borough; and would provide a good standard of living for the future occupiers". "The negatives of the scheme are that the proposal would result in the loss of an existing public house which serves as a wider community facility," a planning report adds.
The plans were also objected to by the Coal Authority, who highlighted the site falls within a high risk area, meaning there were coal mining features and hazards which required consideration. An application to construct three houses on part of the site was previously approved in 2019.
In a planning document, Swish architecture, on behalf of applicant Matt Eley, said: "This design and access statement has demonstrated that the proposed development is in accordance with both national and local planning policy. The proposal builds on an approved layout for the creation of five houses on the site which has been demonstrated to satisfactorily accommodated on the site with adequate off-street parking, and without detriment to residential amenity or the character of the area."
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