Black Bull Hotel Front Street Wark Hexham Northumberland NE48 3LG Data via plota.co.uk

25/04395/COU Pending

Proposal

Change of use from Aparthotel (5 no. apartments) to 5no. 1 & 2 bedroom flats for rent Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
5 Dec 2025
✓
Validated
8 Dec 2025
Decision
Expected by 2 Feb 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicted a decision around 11 Oct 2026; it is now day 307.

Site constraints 4

Agricultural land, grade 3b
Not best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 2
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
5 listed buildings within 150 m
Nearest: War Memorial, Village Green, Grade II, 52 m away · 5 Grade II
The site itself is not listed. Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show all 5 with distances
Historic England ↗
Also on the record
Radon affected area, class 3.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

Sales history 2

Last sold for £271,400 in September 2014. Other property, freehold.

More than one property is recorded at this address: HM Land Registry does not always give the flat or unit.

18 September 2014£271,400Recorded as a transfer outside a standard sale
11 December 1998£144,999Detached house

Sale prices from HM Land Registry's price paid record, matched to this application by its address.

Work with planning data?

Every application in Northumberland (County) - and every UK council - as a live feed, an API, or a bulk CSV export.

About Plota's data service

Important details

Postcode
NE48 3LG
Received
5 Dec 2025
Validated
8 Dec 2025
Freehold owner
Show

Decision outlook

Day 307, past the statutory target. 86% of full applications in Northumberland (County) are decided within thirteen weeks; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 4 Oct 2026.

Day 307251 days past the 56-day target
60%decided within 8 weeks
89%approved
837decided in the last year

Plota live figures for full applications decided by Northumberland (County) in the last twelve months, from validation. Northumberland (County) decision record →

Public comments

2comments received
2 supporting

12 neighbours consulted · Last counted 4 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Northumberland (County)
Planning Authority Score
3.8/10
Below average
#207 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Northumberland (County) ranks #167 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. 47% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (91%) than the national average (90%).

These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Northumberland (County) decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
88%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #158 of 296
91%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #178 of 296
62%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #167 of 296
47%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #210 of 296
80%
Minor dwellings approved
223 decided (1-9 homes)
89%
Major dwellings approved
36 decided (10+ homes)
86%
Change of use approved
71 decided
2,013
Total decisions
233 refused in the year to March 2026

Sale prices: Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Freehold boundary: © Crown copyright and database rights 2026, HM Land Registry. Polygons © Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey 100026316. Conditions of use

Freehold owner: Information produced by HM Land Registry. © Crown copyright 2026. Source: HM Land Registry, UK and overseas companies that own property in England and Wales, September 2026 release.