Future of former Cottenham pub The Jolly Millers in limbo after appeal dismissed

The future of a former village pub remains uncertain after an appeal to turn it into homes was dismissed.

Proposals have been put forward to convert The Jolly Millers pub in Cottenham into a house, and to demolish the outbuildings at the back to construct a second new home.

The pub has been closed for more than four years, and those behind the plans said running a pub at the site is no longer viable.

But permission was refused by South Cambridgeshire District Council in January last year to convert the pub after concerns were raised about the loss of the pub, as well as around the impact the changes could have on protected bat species.

The district council also said it had concerns about the impact on highway safety and on the character and appearance of the Cottenham Conservation Area.

An appeal was submitted to the planning inspectorate by the applicant Gary Jackson, who had hoped to overturn the council’s decision.

In the documents submitted as part of the original application, it said attempts had been made to find someone new to run the pub after it closed, but there had been no interest to do so, or to use the building for any other commercial or community use.

It said: “The applicant has demonstrated that reopening as a pub is not viable and furthermore, there are other pubs in the village, as well as a wealth of other social facilities.

“Consequently, the ‘loss’ of the pub is policy compliant and that policy also acknowledged that residential reuse and new dwellings are both acceptable.

“This modest proposal will bring new use and life to the pub, remove the existing outbuildings and create a new small detached dwelling. The functional requirements of each can be met and they will not impinge upon existing neighbours or each upon the other.”

The planning inspector said they were not persuaded that the business would be viable in the “current post-Covid economic climate”, and said they did not think the loss of the pub would reduce the community or service provision in Cottenham to an “unacceptable level”.

They also said they believed that the public benefits of converting the pub would outweigh the “less than substantial harm to the significance of the Cottenham Conservation Area”.

The inspector added that they believed the impact on the highway would be less than when the pub was in use, and said keeping the existing tarmacked area and providing a parking space for each house “would not result in a severe impact on highway safety”.

However, the inspector said the plans did not show that the redevelopment would not impact protected species, particularly bats.

The inspector said: “In this case the Bat and Nesting Report (BNR) states that the building to be removed has a low roosting suitability for bats, which means there is potential for a bat roost, and states that the building has a moderate habitat connectivity which indicates there is continuous and connected habitat linking to a wider landscape, which could be used by bats.

“Consequently, the BNR in respect of bat species is not conclusive and any necessary avoidance or protection measures cannot be determined.

“I conclude that the proposed development does not adequately demonstrate that impacts on protected species and the extent they might be affected can be avoided or mitigated and compensated.”

Due to these concerns around the potential impact on bats, the planning inspectors dismissed the appeal.