- Decision
- allowed, 2 October 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: Sarah Manchester
- Authority
- Pendle (North West)
- Appeal reference
- 6007757
- Application reference
- 25/0647/LBC
- Procedure
- hearing
- Development
- Listed building consent for works to convert a vacant Grade II listed public house to one dwelling, including removal of later rear extensions
- Site context
- open countryside, isolated
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- HE6(4)
- Development plan policies
- Pendle Local Plan 2021-2040 (adopted December 2025) SP11, DM16, DM18
- Main issues
- listed building special interest
Summary
Listed building consent for the works to convert the Grade II listed Cross Gaits Inn to a house, decided after a hearing in the same letter as the planning appeal (PINS-6007704). The inspector found limited harm, mainly from losing the historic pub use, gave it considerable importance and weight, and found it outweighed under HE6(4) by securing the long-term conservation of a vacant listed building and removing unsympathetic extensions. Allowed with six conditions.
Issues and findings
- Significance. "the special interest of the LB is primarily associated with its historic fabric and form, vernacular architecture and visible evidence of earlier residential use, and its long history of public house use" (DL ¶33).
- Works. "the removal of the unsympathetic later extensions would better reveal the historic building" (DL ¶34).
- Harm: limited, HE6(3). "The historic and communal value of the LB would be significantly diminished because it would not be possible to experience the Cross Gaits Inn as a historic public house" (DL ¶35). "Even so, as directed by the Framework, I give this harm considerable importance and weight" (DL ¶36).
- HE6(4): PASS. "Given the demonstrated lack of a reasonable prospect of retaining the public house use, residential use is compatible with the building’s early historic use and provides a realistic means of securing its conservation" (DL ¶40).
- Conclusion. "having applied the statutory duty, the development plan and the Framework, the proposal would preserve the special historic interest of the Grade II listed building" (DL ¶41).
Planning balance
HE6(4). See PINS-6007704 for the full balance and the viability findings that underpin it.
What made the difference
The pub use had no reasonable prospect of returning, so the loss of communal value could not be avoided, and the building had earlier been in residential use.
Transferable points
- A finding that the proposal would "preserve" a listed building can follow from a favourable HE6(4) balance, despite limited harm being identified first (DL ¶35, ¶41).
- Visible evidence of an earlier residential use supports residential reuse as compatible with a building's history (DL ¶40).
- Retention of named historic features can be secured by a listed building consent condition (DL ¶34).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| HE5(2) | harm | internal alterations kept to a minimum with some loss of historic fabric; the main harm is the loss of the historic public house use; "The degree of harm would be limited" (DL 34-36) | |
| 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 collectively outweigh the limited harm - long-term conservation of a listed building vacant for over 3 years, removal of unsympathetic rear extensions that better reveals the building, housing and economic benefits; "reference to optimum viable use has been removed" from the test (DL 38-40) |
Key facts
- Grade II listed, datestone 1736; coursed rubble with a stone slate roof; a blocked doorway suggests it was once two dwellings (DL 32)
- Much altered inside; surviving features include structural timbers, door frames, timber filleted ceilings and a stag's head in the lobby, all protected by condition (DL 33, schedule 2 condition 6)
- Special regard had to sections 16(2) and 66(1) of the 1990 Act (DL 7)
- Joint letter with planning Appeal A, PINS-6007704, which holds the viability and community facility findings (DL 1, 11-31)
- Six listed building consent conditions - time limit, plans, window and door details, schedule of repair and demolition, Level 2 building record, retention of historic features (schedule 2)
- Hearing on 4 August 2026; parties consulted on the revised Framework after the hearing (DL 8)
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.