Housing refusal threatens historic pub

A historic Herefordshire country pub faces closure after permission for a nearby housing development was refused.

Susan Dovey, of the grade II listed Live & Let Live pub, Bringsty Common off the A44 west of Bromyard, put forward a proposal for three new houses to be built on vacant land south of the pub.

“The pub has struggled significantly with multiple lock-downs and severe reductions in customers,” her application said.

“The capital return from the proposed development will help to boost the financial viability of the pub and protect its longer-term future.”

The proposal had been reduced from an earlier nine-home plan on pre-application advice from the council. But the application said three houses was “the minimum level required to help the pub to remain open and operational”.

It said these had been “designed sympathetically, incorporating a significant amount of the local rural vernacular” including exposed timber framing and stonework facing.

Parking would have been within open ‘car barns’ rather than garages.

But Brockhampton Group Parish Council said the design and density of the proposed houses was not in keeping with the area, nor did the proposed two three-bedroom and one four-bedroom homes meet local housing need.

Planning officer Josh Bailey agreed, concluding that three houses so close together, with “uniform and incongruous design”, would “not reflect the character or appearance of the area” and would “harm the setting, significance and experience” of the pub.

The proposed way of means of dealing with foul and surface water disposal had not been shown to be viable or compliant with county policy, nor would the scheme reflect local housing demand with a balanced mix of dwelling types, Mr Bailey said.