Conversion plan for '¨Ancaster pub rejected

Councillors were unhappy with the details of the application and the proposed parking facilities at the former Ermine Way pub on Ermine Street in Ancaster. The pub closed in 2014.

The applicant proposes to convert the front of the building into a six-bedroom home and the rear into a two-bedroom home. Another house is proposed to be built in the car park area behind the pub. This would be a two-storey, three-bedroom house. Parking for six cars is included in the plan.

Speaking at the meeting of South Kesteven District Council’s development control committee, Councillor Rosemary Kaberry-Brown said there was insufficient parking and it was a dangerous junction. She said: “I think we are going to have too many cars going on to Ermine Street and not everybody keeps to the 30 miles per hour limit. It’s also blind when you are coming out of there.”

Coun Phil Dilks said there was provision for a car parking space at the junction with Ermine Street which would affect visibility for drivers coming out of the site.

Coun Mike Cook described the plan as ‘one of the vaguest applications before me in a considerable time’.

Former owner of the pub Carol Barker, who ran it from 1996 to 2006, told the committee that it should be reopened as a pub and restaurant because it was an important part of the community.

Mrs Barker said she would consider renting the building so it could be run as a pub again. She added: “It could be a very, very well run place. I had many, many happy years there.”

Ancaster resident Maria Topps told the meeting she had been a member of the ladies darts team when the pub was open. She said the sports and social club across the road was members-only and other facilities did not cater for the same clientele.

She added: “I cannot believe highways are happy for cars to pull out of that access. You only have to stand there at 8.45 in the morning when parents are parking along there to take their children to school. The cars will block the view.”

Applicant Paul Gray, of Bickford Ltd, said he would much rather get a tenant into the pub to keep it running, but this wasn’t possible. He said the sports and social club had taken customers from the pub as the beer was cheaper. He said his company had rented the pub out to three tenants and they all failed.

Coun Judy Stevens proposed the application was refused and this was carried by 11 votes to five.