Council blocks controversial pub redevelopment plan

There was widespread opposition to the proposal at the Red Lion, at Stathern, which closed eight years ago and which has since become derelict and a target for vandals and squatters.

The owners say it was no longer viable as a pub business and they applied to Melton Borough Council to partially demolish the pub building and build six new homes on the site.

But more than 100 objections were received from locals and parish councillors also opposed the scheme with many saying the 300-year-old pub should be retained as a village amenity, that it was overdevelopment in an attractive area of the village and that the new housing was not needed.

Melton Council officials recommended the plans be approved but members of the planning committee went against their advice and rejected it on the grounds that it flouted local planning policies, there would be insufficient parking for visitors and that it would harm the conservation area of the village.

Councillor Margaret Glancy told the meeting: “The council deemed Stathern to be a service centre because it had two pubs, a school and a shop and now we are looking at removing one of its sustainable features.

"This would be an over-intensification of the site and the car parking for residents there would be inadequate. I really can’t support it.”

Councillor Ian Atherton pointed out the scheme went against the Stathern Neighbourhood Plan, which mentions a need for only 18 new homes. He said permission was already in place for more than 70 properties to be built in the village so a further six would not be required.

Stathern parish councillor. Ken Bray, addressed the committee to outline his council’s opposition. He said there would be inadequate parking for visitors to the new homes leading congestion on the narrow Red Lion Street and that it would harm the heritage and conservation area there.

Another speaker – Sally Fagan of Stathern Community Benefit Society – argued that the pub was viable as a business and questioned whether the owners had given the venture long enough to work after closing it nine months after first opening.

She added: “Two serious offers above the market value were made to buy the pub but both were ignored.”

Sachin Parmar, the agent for the applicants, was heckled from some in the public gallery as he told councillors that redeveloping the site into housing was the only viable option to clean up what had become an eyesore in the village.

He said: “My clients have poured money into it to make this pub work but we have to be realistic that the pub is no longer viable.

"Our scheme is centred around rejuvenating the Red Lion site and preserving its heritage significance in the village.”

The Red Lion, which held a prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand due to the quality of its food, has been a registered Asset of Community Value (ACV) since May 2018 and this status is not due to expire until June 2028.

Stathern still retain a pub in the village – The Plough Inn, in Main Street.