- Decision
- allowed, 2 October 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: Sarah Manchester
- Authority
- Pendle (North West)
- Appeal reference
- 6007704
- Application reference
- 25/0646/FUL
- Procedure
- hearing
- Development
- Conversion of a vacant Grade II listed public house (sui generis) to one dwelling (Class C3) and associated works
- Homes
- 1
- Site context
- open countryside, isolated
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- HE6(4), HC6
- Development plan policies
- Pendle Local Plan 2021-2040 (adopted December 2025) DM35, SP11, DM16, DM18
- Main issues
- loss of a public house and community facility; listed building
Summary
Conversion of the Cross Gaits Inn, a Grade II listed rural pub near Blacko that closed in January 2023, to a single house. After a hearing the inspector accepted undisputed viability evidence that the pub use could not reasonably be made viable, and found a community group's rival plan too uncertain. Losing the pub use would cause limited harm to the listed building, given considerable importance and weight. Under HE6(4) that harm was outweighed by public benefits, chiefly securing the long-term conservation of a vacant, deteriorating listed building. Both the planning appeal and the listed building consent appeal were allowed.
Issues and findings
- Transition. "After the hearing, the parties were provided with the opportunity to comment on the implications of the revised Framework to their cases and I have taken their comments into account" (DL ¶8).
- Loss of community facility, HC6: PASS. "There is little compelling evidence that CPG could purchase the Cross Gaits Inn and refurbish it to the high standard required" (DL ¶28). "It would also accord with policy HC6 of the Framework in relation to there being no reasonable prospect of the use being retained because it is no longer viable" (DL ¶31).
- Local policy clauses are alternatives. "Each clause in policy DM35 is an alternate pathway by which a proposal can meet the requirements of the policy as a whole" (DL ¶17).
- Heritage harm from loss of use. "The loss of the public house use would therefore harm the designated heritage asset" (DL ¶35).
- Degree and weight: HE5, HE6(1), HE6(3). "The degree of harm would be limited because the building, its principal historic form and most surviving features would be retained" (DL ¶36). "Even so, as directed by the Framework, I give this harm considerable importance and weight in the planning balance of these appeals" (DL ¶36).
- 2024 paragraph 215 replaced. "However, paragraph 215 has been replaced by policy HE6 of the 2026 Framework" (DL ¶38). "Notably, reference to optimum viable use has been removed" (DL ¶38).
- HE6(4): PASS. "Its use as a dwelling would enable its sensitive repair and renovation and it would secure the long-term conservation of the heritage asset. This would be an important public benefit" (DL ¶39). "while the benefits may appear individually modest, I find that collectively they are sufficient to outweigh the harm to the significance of the listed building" (DL ¶40).
Planning balance
HE6(4), then the development plan. Limited harm, given considerable importance and weight, against: long-term reuse and conservation of a vacant listed building, which is "an important public benefit" (DL ¶39); removal of unsympathetic extensions; one family home; and economic benefits. The inspector reasoned that the harm "cannot reasonably be avoided" because the pub use is not viable (DL ¶40). The scheme then accords with the development plan and "Policy S3 of the Framework" (DL ¶47). S5 is not applied to a site outside the settlement.
What made the difference
Viability evidence. The 2025 appeal failed for want of it. This time a marketing and viability report went unchallenged by the Council, and the community group's figures (an offer well below valuation, a refurbishment budget well below the quote, unsecured funding) did not show a realistic alternative. Once the pub use was shown to have no reasonable prospect, the heritage harm from losing it was unavoidable and residential use was the realistic way to conserve the building.
Transferable points
- HE6(4)'s named benefit of "securing the long-term reuse of a vacant or underused listed building" carried the balance for a single dwelling against limited harm to a Grade II building (DL ¶38–40).
- The 2026 Framework drops "optimum viable use" from the heritage balance; an inspector said so after a hearing that had explored it under 2024 paragraph 215 (DL ¶37–38).
- Loss of a historic use can itself harm a listed building's significance (its "experiential and communal value"), even where fabric and form are kept (DL ¶35–36).
- Harm that "cannot reasonably be avoided" because the existing use is unviable weighs less heavily against the scheme (DL ¶40).
- HC6 is met by evidence that the use has no reasonable prospect of being retained; a community bid must show realistic purchase price, costs, funding and operator (DL ¶22–31).
- A hearing started under the 2024 Framework was decided under the 2026 text after written comments (DL ¶8).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| HC6 | pass | pub use no longer viable and cannot reasonably be made so (marketing and viability report undisputed by the Council; community group's purchase and refurbishment plan not shown to be realistic); accords with HC6 "in relation to there being no reasonable prospect of the use being retained" (DL 15-31) | |
| HE5(2) | harm | loss of the long-standing public house use erodes the special interest of the Grade II building; "The degree of harm would be limited" because the building, its form and most surviving features are kept; HE5 cited for effect on significance, not scale of development (DL 35-36) | |
| HE6(1) | harm | substantial | substantial weight to the asset's conservation stated (DL 36) |
| HE6(3) | harm | considerable | "I give this harm considerable importance and weight" (DL 36) |
| HE6(4) | pass | public benefits outweigh the limited harm - securing the long-term conservation of a listed building vacant for over 3 years ("an important public benefit"), removal of unsympathetic rear extensions, one family home, economic benefits; inspector notes that 2024 paragraph 215 is replaced and "reference to optimum viable use has been removed" (DL 37-40) | |
| S3 | accord | proposal "in accordance with the development plan and in accordance with Policy S3 of the Framework"; S5 not cited although the site is outside the settlement of Blacko (DL 11, 47) | |
| LP DM35 (local) | accord | clauses of DM35 are alternative routes; clause 3(c) (existing use no longer viable and cannot reasonably be made viable) met (DL 12, 17, 31) |
Key facts
- Hearing on 4 August 2026; parties consulted on the revised Framework after the hearing (DL 8)
- Earlier scheme (pub to dwelling plus a new dwelling on the car park) dismissed on appeal in November 2025 (APP/E2340/W/25/3368853 and Y/25/3368857); this scheme omits the new dwelling and adds a marketing and viability report (DL 4-6)
- Pub closed January 2023 and registered as an Asset of Community Value the same month; bought by the appellant for £405,000 in March 2023; first marketed at £595,000 in November 2023 (DL 11, 13, 20)
- Community Pub Group offered £225,000 against a lowest RICS valuation of £295,000, and budgeted £430,000 for refurbishment against the appellant's undisputed quote of £610,800 (DL 22-23)
- Council did not defend the planning refusal reason but did not withdraw it; at the hearing it still argued a community pub might be viable (DL 9, 18)
- Joint letter with listed building consent Appeal B, PINS-6007757, also allowed (DL 2)
- Costs application by the appellant against the Council is the subject of a separate decision (DL 3)
- A condition for bat and barn owl assessment was not imposed for lack of evidence (DL 45)
Related decisions
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.