Dales pub landlady loses enforcement notice appeal

A Yorkshire Dales pub owner has lost her challenge to enforcement action after she turned the premises into a house and tearoom without permission.

The Planning Inspectorate has rejected appeals submitted by Joanne Cox, landlady of the Moorcock Inn, at Garsdale.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) issued two enforcement notices after work was done at the pub without planning permission.

One notice required the owner to stop using the pub as a house and remove a staircase, partitions, and fixtures and fittings associated with the building being used as a home.  The second notice ordered Ms Cox to stop using parts of the building as a tearoom and self-contained accommodation.

Ms Cox appealed the notices on various grounds including the claim that the work did not need planning permission and that no material change of use had taken place as food and drink was still being served from the premises.  She also argued that bed and breakfast accommodation had previously been provided at the pub.

But planning inspector Paul Freer said in his report there was evidence a change of use had occurred.

He said: “I noted on my site visit that the ground floor of the building, which had previously been used as the bar area for the public house, is now fitted out as living accommodation.  This included sofas, a dining table and a fully equipped kitchen. The new staircase leads to bedroom and bathroom facilities.  In combination, this part of the building provides all the facilities necessary for daily domestic existence. It is, as a matter of fact and degree, a dwelling.”

The inspector added: “In relation to use of part of the building as a self-contained unit of residential accommodation for short-term holiday letting purposes, I recognise that this type of use has historically been part of the use of the Moorcock Inn.  However, that was as an ancillary use to the primary use of the premises as a public house.”

The failed appeal means the landlady will be required to meet the requirements of the enforcement notices or face further legal action.
A spokesperson for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority said: “We welcome the decision of the planning inspectorate to refuse this appeal.
“Enforcement action is always regrettable and a last resort. We would now encourage the owners of the Moorcock Inn to comply fully with the requirements of the two enforcement notices.”

The notices were issued after members of YDNPA rejected retrospective planning permission for the changes, with more than 20 objections submitted to the authority to the application.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted Ms Cox for comment.