The owner of a village pub in York has been refused permission to use part of the building for housing as it would result in the loss of a valued community facility, a government inspector has ruled.
Ruth Yeadon had applied for planning permission to create an apartment on the ground floor of the Murton Arms in Murton.
She claimed that the business was not viable despite her best efforts.
But Chris Baxter, of the Planning Inspectorate, said there was not enough evidence it was unviable to run as a pub and questioned whether the market price advertised of £425,000 was too high.
The pub, formerly The Bay Horse, is currently closed, but was open under Ms Yeadon from around August 2017 to January 2018.
Ms Yeadon, who has previously bought and run a pub, told the appeal hearing that The Murton Arms closed because there were too few customers, but Mr Baxter said in his report that more evidence was needed.
He wrote: “The appellant eloquently expressed her situation and that she had put her heart and soul into the business venture at the appeal property and that it was a big commitment including moving to the area and enrolling her daughter into a local school.
“However, financial accounts only showing a period of up to nine months is not a significant period of time to determine whether a business would have been viable or not.”
‘Time wasters’
Mr Baxter also dismissed the idea that competition from local cafes and a nearby church had any relevance to his decision.
The Derwent Arms, which is more than a mile away, was also not a “suitable alternative” for the day-to-day needs of the local community in Murton, in Mr Baxter’s view.
The pub was up for sale from November 2019 to February 2022.
Mr Baxter wrote: “A number of viewings of the property, around seven that were described to me, took place including in 2019 and 2020 however it was explained that none of these potential purchasers could prove sufficient funding to enable purchase of the property.
“The appellant also described that there were a number of ‘time wasters’ as well as some purchasers who wanted to convert the property into residential.”
Mr Baxter said there was “no substantial evidence submitted” as to why a formal offer on the property had not been made.
He concluded: “I have had regard to matters such as the rising cost of living including fuel and food price increases, interest rates and inflation rising as well as potential customers having less disposable income.
“Nevertheless, insufficient evidence has been provided to convince me that the use of the property as a public house would not be viable.”
In 2020, senior York councillor Nigel Ayre said the pub was in a “nice location” but that every time he had tried to visit in the last 20 years it had never been open.
“I think it’s a difficult situation and I do believe they have really tried to make that business work,” he said.