VILLAGE’S ‘LAST PUB’ SET TO BECOME SHOP
Go-ahead for project despite ‘limited parking’ concerns
A VILLAGE is set to lose its last pub after plans for a new convenience store were given the green light.
Planners at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council gave full approval for the Bulls Head public house in High Street, Kingsley, to be converted into a shop.
The Bulls Head, which closed in 2018, was the last public house in the village - which has seen three others close over the years.
The planning application also received support from Kingsley Parish Council, despite concerns being raised about the loss of the public house as a facility in the village and the limited availability for parking.
The parish council stated a convenience store would be an excellent facility and an asset to Kingsley.
In a delegated report, planning officer Chris Johnston, said: “There would be no extensions and the only external alterations would involve the addition of glazing panels either side of the existing double-door main entrance to form a ‘shop-front’ window.
“There is a first-floor flat which was the landlord’s accommodation and would be retained unaltered as a flat for the shop manager, accessed internally via the shop.
“The change of use would involve the loss of a community facility, in this case, the only remaining pub within the village, although now vacated.
“A village store selling food and convenience items is also a community facility and arguably would be of greater benefit than a pub, particularly as there is no shop in the village and the proposal would prevent car journeys to access other food stores. The policy therefore has not been breached as a community facility has in essence not been lost.
“With regard to residential amenity, the shop would not be open later than the former pub.
“There is less potential for noise nuisance and disturbance from customers of a shop than a pub but the more frequent vehicle movements and installed machinery needed to run a shop can still potentially harm the living conditions of the adjacent houses.
“The environmental Health Section also require signage of the car parking spaces to prevent cars randomly parking next to the two dwellings next to the car park leading to increased noise and disturbance.
“The proposal is acceptable in principle and would not harm the visual or residential amenities.”