Community divided over pub proposal
A PUB that has reapplied for planning permission for an extension after being refused last year has divided opinion in a Valleys community.
The plans, which have been the subject of letters both in support and opposition, are for the Royal Oak Pub in the Cynon Valley, and relate to two extra flats on the first floor, an extension of the pub itself and a car park to the rear of the building.
The pub had reportedly already built the extension before applying for permission last time around, and is expected to be turned down by planners once more.
The proposals to build the two flats were rejected by Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s planning and development committee back in November, but the pub on Morgan Row, Cwmbach, has reapplied for permission having made alterations, this time also including room for parking at the rear.
Those changes, which will be considered by planners on Thursday, include a small, false, pitched roof to be positioned on the front of the extension’s flat roof.
The report advises councillors that while the extension has been built, the alterations to the roof have not yet been carried out.
The council said the development in principle is “acceptable”, but that the rear extension does not complement nor enhance the building and appears “alien”, resulting in an “awkward, complex and visually dominant roof” - and that the alteration does not “go any way to overcoming it”.
Planning officers have recommended that the committee refuses the plans again.
The issue appears to be a contentious one in the village, and the proposals have not only been subject to a letter of objection signed by six residents living on Phillip Row (the street behind the pub), but also a letter of support signed by eight people living on Pond Place (the adjacent street), and six further separate letters supporting the plans.
The letters against the plans said Phillip Row was a narrow resident street with “significant parking issues” and that the area is generally crowded because of a nearby salon and other parking restrictions. Safety fears were also raised about drivers already parking on footways, meaning pedestrians often have to walk on the road, which is a bus route.
Other concerns related to the appearance of the extension, and that access to the site may hinder emergency service vehicles’ access.
They are also angry the extension has been completed before planning permission was sought.
The letters supporting the application make the observation that the building was in a “poor state of repair” prior to the pub’s current owners taking it over, and that the building has been “considerably improved” since.
The other reasons listed in the report are that more flats will mean an improved housing stock and that the pub is a “welcome addition” to the village.
If refused, it would be the third time in three years plans have been turned down by the council.
After the last refusal, a subsequent appeal was also dismissed by the Welsh Government.
The Royal Oak has been contacted for comment.