Village pub told it can’t build eight homes they said were ‘critical’ to keep afloat

The British Queen pub in Meldreth applied to build the homes last year but South Cambridgeshire District Council rejected them

A Cambridgeshire village pub’s plan to build new homes they said were “critical” to keep them afloat has been struck down on appeal.

The proposal for eight homes behind the British Queen pub in Meldreth was put to South Cambridgeshire District Council last year and, after first delaying a decision, councillors refused the scheme.

A representative of the pub owners said funds raised from the development would be invested into expanding the facilities at the pub, adding that it would be a “disaster for the village” if the pub had to close. An appeal was launched after the plans were refused with a final decision made last month.

Inspector Zoe Raygen said the Grade-II listed pub is an “early example of architecture in the village” with “historic and social significance as a public house”.

Although she found the proposed homes to be “of an acceptable design and not overly large” they would still “diminish the verdant character and appearance of the area”.

The proposed access road would also be close to a tree which was protected by a Tree Preservation Order put in place when the council was considering this application.

Inspector Raygen said it was “a splendid, large sycamore tree with a large, low canopy which contributes substantially to the character and appearance of the area.”

She said: “It is not surprising therefore that the tree has been categorised as A1 in the appellant’s most up to date Tree Survey, a tree of the highest quality.”

The inspector raised concerns that two gardens extend to the edge of the river Mel, which could harm the habitat of bats that use the area for feeding.

Two bedrooms in one house and one bedroom in another would also “have only rooflights providing light and outlook” which she said “could lead to gloomy, oppressive conditions, particularly in the winter or poor weather conditions”.

Inspector Raygen said the pub owners’ claim that the development could secure their future was an “admirable proposal” but she could only give it “very limited weight”.

She said this was due to the lack of detailed information surrounding past trading, projected income from the project and how this would be spent.