Plan to build house on village pub car park refused
An application to build a house on the car park of a village pub in Wakefield has been refused.
Wakefield Council said proposals for the property at The Plough Inn, in Warmfield, was inappropriate for the greenbelt setting.
The scheme involved building a three-bedroom detached house next to the pub with access to the site from Croft Head Lane.
A planning statement submitted to the authority on behalf of the applicant said the pub was “not currently in operation.”
It said: “The site has become a magnet for illegal dumping and anti-social behaviour.
“Whilst the site and surrounding area are allocated as within the greenbelt, they are not open or rural in any real sense.
“Instead, the combination of hard-standing, storage, illegal dumping and vehicles gives a much more urban appearance.”
A previous application to build an apartment block at the site was refused in 2015 and an appeal was dismissed by a planning inspector.
The statement said the proposal would help the council achieve its housing targets and “deliver a high quality living environment” for future occupiers.
It added: “While the public house is currently closed, it could reopen in the future.
“However, the public house has historically operated alongside neighbouring residential uses without conflict, and there is no evidence to suggest that its reintroduction would cause amenity issues.
“The addition of a further dwelling would therefore remain compatible with the established mixed use character of the area.”
Rejecting the plan, a council officer’s report said it “would have a substantially harmful impact on the openness of the greenbelt.”