‘Subjective’ objections rejected as plan approved for listed pub
PLANS to turn one of Bradford’s most historically important pubs into supported accommodation have been approved, with objections to the proposal for the listed building dismissed as “subjective”.
Planning officers at Bradford Council approved the change of use of the Grade-II listed New Beehive Inn on Westgate despite the authority’s conservation officer calling the proposals “substantially inadequate”.
And although officers admitted evidence that the building would not likely ever be a viable pub as weak, they highlighted the “notable change in demographics” in the city that meant a change of use should be allowed.
The planning application to convert the building into supported accommodation was submitted last year by Sakhawat Hussain.
Work to alter the pub, which dates back to 1901, had already begun when Historic England granted the building Grade II-listed status in 2022. The pub had been shut for some time before the listing.
The listing described the pub as “a rare survival of a late Victorian internal plan of four rooms centred around a drinking lobby”. It also highlighted many of the period features inside the building.
Although there had been calls for the Beehive to reopen as a pub from groups including Camra, the application called for the building to become supported accommodation, with its grand ground floor divided into office space, communal areas and a dining room.
The plans assured the council that all the listed features inside the pub would be retained.
But the council’s conservation officer Jon Ackroyd criticised the lack of information on how the changes would impact the pub’s “heritage significance” and argued the applicant had not provided enough justification that “all reasonable attempts to retain the original use of this statutorily listed building had been explored before an alternative use was promoted”.
There had been numerous objections to the plans, with one saying it “represents the last standing Edwardian public house of its type in the city”.
Approving the scheme, planning officers say in the report: “Officers are mindful that the evidence provided to make a case as to why the original public house use is no longer viable is somewhat weak.
“However, weight is afforded to the notable change in demographics across the city of Bradford as a whole and the change in footfall to this part of the city due to its distance from the most active parts of the city centre, which make the public house use less viable.”
Planners added: “It provides a sustainable use in the form of the supported accommodation for the designated heritage asset instead of risking it falling into a state of disrepair due to lengthy vacancy.”
Referring to the objections, officers said: “Officers are aware of the extensive representations received; however these are largely subjective.”
After hearing about the approval Richard Holden, a member of Bradford Camra, wrote to Levelling Up Minister Michael Gove expressing his anger at the decision.