Painted striped frontage at The Moonrakers Inn, High Street, Pewsey

The site

The Moonrakers is a grade II listed, 17th-century building in the Pewsey Conservation Area, among historic High Street properties.

“The Moonrakers Public House (No.57 High Street) is a grade II listed building located within the Pewsey Conservation Area.”

“The building is located almost halfway along the High Street, which is flanked by almost continuous built-up frontages of historic properties on either side of the road, most of which directly front the pavement. Buildings vary from individual buildings and short terraces, housing a variety of shops and small businesses, interspersed with dwellings.”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended refusal because the permanent decoration was not traditional, harmed the listed building and conservation area, and had no public benefits outweighing that harm.

“NPPF paragraph 215 states that ‘where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal including, where appropriate, securing its optimum viable use’: there are not considered to be any public benefits to the retention of the painted decoration scheme.”

“The recommendation is to refuse listed building consent, as the painting of the front elevation fails to preserve its special interest as a grade II listed building, its setting within the Pewsey Conservation Area, by virtue of the lack of traditional form of surface decoration for a public house, listed building or local tradition within the area.”

Officer report

Consultation and public comments

Highways and the parish council made no comment; six comments supported, four objected, and two made mixed observations.

“Summary of consultation responses • WC Highways: No comment.”

“Summary of representations • Parish/Town Council: No comment…”

Officer report

Who spoke

Two members of the public spoke in support of the application, while the applicant did not attend or speak because of their role as applicant.

The committee vote

A motion to reject the officer recommendation and approve consent was moved and seconded, and the committee resolved to approve it.

“At the start of the debate a motion to REJECT the officer’s recommendation and to APPROVE Listed Building Consent was moved by Cllr Keith Allen and seconded by Cllr Paul Oatway.”

“Further points raised suggested that the application before the Committee contravened the points made by the Senior Conservation/Planning Officer and that it was suggested that the Moonrakers Inn was functioning well as a public house and there was no reason to suggest this would not be the case without the painted striped colour scheme.”

Minutes

The decision

Listed Building Consent was approved because the committee found that public benefits outweighed the less-than-substantial harm to the listed building and its setting.

“That Listed Building Consent be APPROVED as the retention of the painted striped colour scheme preserves the special interest of the grade II listed building and its setting. The proposal causes less than substantial harm to its significance as a designated heritage asset and this is outweighed by the public benefits.”

“Informative: That the painted striped colour scheme to front (South) elevation is retained to the exact detail as documented within the photograph included within the Senior Conservation/Planning Officer’s report.”

Minutes