A historic pub building will be converted into a new home with another property being built in its car park, after councillors gave the proposals the green light.
The development will take place at the site of the former The Hop Poles, Bedlars Green, Great Hallingbury, in north Essex, after Uttlesford Council backed the proposals for the site. The pub building is Grade II listed, since 1983 and the business has been shut for over ten years.
Two separate planning applications have been agreed including; Conversion of public house to residential including alterations to listed building – which focuses on the changes to a listed building. The other application is for the Conversion and change of use from public house to 1 no. residential dwelling and proposed erection of cartlodge and proposed construction of 1 no. self-build dwelling in existing car park.
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Uttlesford Council’s senior planning officer, Avgerinos Vlachos, dealt with both of the applications and put together reports on both. The reports highlighted the plans would “bring the public benefit” as it brings the “heritage asset” back into use as well as using a previously developed area for new homes.
One of the reports reads: “The proposal would provide a modest contribution towards the wider local economy during the conversion works and development phase via potential employment for local builders and suppliers of materials, and post-construction via reasonable use of local services in the village or in nearby villages.
Plans for former Hops Poles pub
(Image: Cannon Architectural Design Ltd)
“The domestication of the site would not harm the semi-rural character and appearance of the area given the artificial tarmacked appearance of the existing car park and given that the new dwelling would be enclosed by existing built form on three sides. Securing the optimum viable use of the closed public house would ensure that the heritage asset would be maintained and survive to the benefit of future generations, which is the only benefit recognised in the heritage balancing exercise in paragraph 208 of the national planning policy framework and as such, this benefit should attract significant weight.
“The site would make better use of previously developed land and under-used land, and existing building within a settlement, and therefore the proposal would gain heavy support from the National Planning Policy Framework that would afford substantial weight to this public benefit arising from the development.”