Chatton pub fails with planning appeal and must now remove outdoor huts

A timber decking area and four huts were installed at The Percy Arms in Chatton during the Covid pandemic.

The Inn Hospitality Group subsequently applied for retrospective planning permission but this was turned down by Northumberland County Council’s north area planning committee last August.

An appeal was lodged but it has now been dismissed by a planning inspector.

Matt Daniel, director of the Inn Hospitality Group, said: “We are naturally disappointed our appeal has been refused.

"Although we were compliant with every regulation, from planning to highways, and had fantastic community support, it appears that was not sufficient.”

He continued: “Since taking over the Percy Arms we have worked hard to safeguard the future of the business and a key part of that was developing outdoor spaces. This was especially important during covid.

"The outdoor huts were always intended to be a temporary solution but proved to be very popular with customers.

“It would have been great to have another year to use our huts to try and recoup the investment but that is now not possible and another financial challenge in a very tough trading environment with rising costs and the cost of living crisis.

“We do, however, accept the council decision and are making plans to have the huts removed.”

The planning application was initially refused by the council – against the recommendation of officers – on conservation grounds.

Councillors decided that the public benefit was not sufficient to outweigh the harm. They also had concerns about access to the rear car park.

The application also attracted eight letters of objection.

Planning inspector H Jones said: “Whilst I have concluded that the proposal would not result in any unacceptable effects upon highway safety, this does not outweigh the harm that would be caused to the character and appearance of the conservation area, harm which I have identified would conflict with policies within the development plan.

"Despite the proposal according with some Local Plan policies, the development conflicts with the development plan as a whole.

“There are no material considerations of sufficient weight to indicate a decision other than one in accordance with the development plan and, therefore, the appeal is dismissed.”