Plea over new homes plan to sustain ‘struggling’ South Cambridgeshire pub

A new development of eight homes is “critical” to help sustain a “struggling” village pub, councillors have been told.

Plans were considered by South Cambridgeshire District Council last Wednesday (12 March) for the development of self-build and custom-build homes on a field behind The British Queen pub in Meldreth.

A representative of the pub owners said funds raised would be invested into expanding the pub’s facilities.

They said it would be a “disaster for the village” if the pub had to close.

The plans included creating an access road to the homes off High Street. Each home will have its own parking spaces and a back garden.

Planning officers recommended refusal, saying the development was not for self-build and custom-build homes as described. They also said the “scale, location, intensification of residential use” would “be at odds with the rural setting”.

They added that “insufficient information” had been provided, including to show that there would be a 10 per cent biodiversity net gain, and said “contradictory information” about the new access road had also been submitted.

But the pub owners’ representative said the proposed development was “critical for sustaining the British Queen”, which was “struggling to stay afloat.

“The pub sector faces rising costs, increasing business rates, National Insurance, and higher energy bills, all of which place immense pressure on a business like this,” said the representative. “Currently the owners subsidise the business heavily with their own personal finances, a situation that cannot feasibly continue for much longer.

“The closure of the pub will be a disaster for the village as it would lose a key community facility that employs over 15 members of staff as well as supporting numerous local suppliers.

“The new residential properties will go towards the council’s housing targets in a highly sustainable location, with funds generated by the proposal helping to secure the future of the pub that is already a cornerstone of local life, hosting events like weddings, quizzes and live music, as well as operating a boutique shop.

“Furthermore, the owners of the British Queen have recently been designing the provision of an on-site cafe, public toilets and EV charging facilities, which will be constructed utilising the funds from the scheme, adding even more value to the community.

“The new homes have been carefully designed with modest height and scale to ensure they blend with the surrounding areas.”

Villager Paul Harris told the committee: “I have watched other green field developments take place that have had a greater impact on the environment than this one.

“We have to build houses. We have to build them somewhere that does not have a great impact. It would be unfair to pull the drawbridge up on this development when you have allowed others to take place in the village.”

Cllr Heather Williams suggested deferring the decision to see if the issues around a lack of information could be resolved.

She highlighted that the development was within walking distance of both a train station and a school, and said many aspects of the plan “tick boxes for sustainability”.

But the district council’s legal officer said the description of the development as self and custom-build was “fundamentally incorrect”.

They said the authority cannot change the application and this issue had been raised with the applicant before the plans were put to councillors.

The representative believed they would be able to provide information to show the development was for custom-build homes, and asked to be given the opportunity to amend the description.

A majority of councillors agreed to defer a decision to enable changes.