A scheme for change of use and four new homes at a former public house was approved after exhaustive efforts failed to find new operators.
KPPC Ltd secured the planning permission from Dorset Council for the Farquharson Arms at Pimperne in north Dorset.
The application was for the change of use of the former pub and replacement of an outbuilding to create a total of four new homes: two in a conversion of the pub, one on the site of its former coach house and a fourth on a car park.
Pre-application discussions were entered into with the local authority to seek to deal with the loss of the public house, and thereafter a comprehensive planning application was submitted by KPPC Ltd.
This included a convincing package of support information and expert studies such as a commercial viability report.
In addition, no party came forward to apply for the former pub to be designated as an ‘asset of community value’ and there was no interest from potential operators or the local community in acquiring the site despite a marketing drive.
With the planning application setting the case for a high-quality and well-designed scheme appropriate for its location, the council was able to grant permission to bring the building and its site back into use.
With increasing numbers of pubs closing, residential development is providing an important means to breathe new life into sites while providing much-needed housing.
KPPC Ltd worked closely with partners on the scheme to gain planning consent. They included Daly Martin Williams Architects and Richard Nicholson APC for arboricultural services.
Commercial viability reporting was by Sturt and Company and ecological services by ABR Ecology .
