Plans to turn pub into shop turned down
GoogleA proposal to turn a defunct pub into what a campaign group said would be "yet another retail outlet" has been turned down.
The Bulls Head on Cambridge Street in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, shut in 2023 and Noble Trading (UK) Ltd wanted to transform the building into a shop.
The Campaign for Pubs organisation objected, saying the "popular pub" had been "well supported before its closure", with the town council also expressing objections.
Huntingdonshire District Council's planning officers said the applicant had "failed to demonstrate that the proposed change of use is acceptable in principle".
The company has six months to appeal, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Noble Trading said it would keep as much of the existing pub facade as possible, offer "adequate" parking spaces in a car park next to the shop - and with nearby street parking - and create a disabled car parking space on the road.
The district council had previously granted a licence for a retail outlet to sell alcohol.
Cambridgeshire County Council's highways authority team objected due to the lack of disabled parking spaces within the proposed car park, and said information it needed to assess the suitability of the car park was also missing.
The town council objected to the loss of a pub and raised concerns about "highway safety and intensity of vehicle movement on site".
The Campaign for Pubs said: "With so many pubs closing it would seem a shame to lose such a typical British public house to provide yet another retail outlet, where there are significant other options in the local area."
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