The owners of a long-running West Huntspill pub have unveiled new plans to replace the property with eight homes in its place.
British Country Inns has submitted a planning application for outline consent to replace The Pimpernel in Main Road, West Huntspill, near Highbridge.
“This application is for a residential development with the formation of an access onto Main Road. The layout shows eight dwellings with parking spaces,” says the developer.
Outline planning consent was previously granted for the redevelopment of The Pimpernel in October 2006, but that application has time-expired because work did not begin within two years of the approval.
“British Country Inns has subsequently acquired the property and wishes to reinstate planning consent for a similar development,” adds the firm. It adds that the number, size and arrangement of homes is subject to later approvals.
The Pimpernel remains open for business.
The loss of the Pimpernel would be a further blow to the local pub trade, coming just three years after West Huntspill’s Royal Artillery pub was demolished to make way for new homes.
One local resident said this week he would be objecting, adding: “Many of us don’t want to see important community facilities like this being lost. Pubs are a vital part of villages that bring people together and, once lost, are gone forever.”
Sedgemoor District Council’s planning department is inviting comments on the application – reference number 52/17/00006 – before the deadline of April 7th, 2017.
