Offices in former pub at Railway Hotel, 2 Station Road, Huncoat

“The proposal would involve the change of use from a public house to an office (Use Class E) to be occupied by Bridge It Housing who are said to be a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to addressing housing needs. The ground floor would include open-plan office space, a reception and two meeting rooms for community and client engagement. The first floor would provide additional office space, a staff room, and storage areas. The basement would be used for ancillary storage.”

“The Railway Hotel is a two-story traditional public house with a basement, located adjacent to Huncoat Railway Station. It was constructed in the late 19 th century and features a stone façade with period architectural details and has a gross internal floor area of approximately 300 square metres (sqm). The site includes a small rear beer garden/yard and is surrounded by mixed commercial and residential uses. It closed as a public house on 22 March 2025.”

“In conclusion, the proposed change of use of the Railway Hotel to office use is located in an out-of-centre location and the submitted Sequential Test has not demonstrated that all sequentially preferable sites have been thoroughly explored. It would also not form part of a mixed-use development. The proposal therefore fails to comply with Policies DM1 and DM3 of the Development Management DPD.”

“The submitted information fails to provide adequate evidence that one of the circumstances where the loss of a public house will be supported applies. The submitted marketing and economic viability evidence is inadequate and there would be a shortfall of local pub provision in the area. Therefore, the proposal conflicts with Policy DM8 of the Hyndburn Development Management Development Plan Document and paragraph 98 of the National Planning Policy Framework.”

“Existing use A4 – Public House = 1 space per 5 sqm of public floor area Proposed use Class E – Offices = 1 space per 30 sqm Therefore, the proposal creates less usage than the existing…”

“A scaled parking plan is required to show the parking area proposed for this change of use has an electrical vehicle charging port, a disabled parking space and cycle parking for up to 5 cycle spaces. No information on waste storage has been provided. This needs to be shown on a drawing.”

“Consultation letters were sent to nearby properties and four objections were received which highlight the following concerns:”

“Loss of a vital community asset – addressed within section two of the observations 2. Claims that the property has received bids when marketed but were denied – Addressed within section two of the observations 3. Lack of marketing evidence – addressed within section two of the observations 4.”

“Members discussed the application and noted that while it is a shame to keep a building empty it would not be appropriate to approve the application with the insufficient evidence provided.”

“Resolved – The application was refused as per the officer recommendation.”