Pegswood restaurant planning application recommended for approval by council officers

Northumberland County Council planning officers raised no objections to a couple’s proposals for Prospect House in Pegswood, a former shop that has sat empty for years, to be converted into a bistro.

The scheme would see interior renovations, a small extension, new outdoor seating, parking spaces, and the demolition of an outbuilding, with the restaurant named The Courtyard and likely to open later this year.

The application received 66 official supportive comments from members of the public and 18 objections.

Councillors on the Castle Morpeth Local Area Planning Committee will make a decision on the planning application at a meeting on Monday, June 10.

Interior renovations have already begun as it is the external alterations to the building that require planning consent, not the interior changes or use class of the building.

In their report, planning officers said: “The local planning authority recognises the principle of development as acceptable.

“Technical matters have been appropriately addressed by the applicant throughout the duration of the application whilst the submission of further information can be secured through planning conditions.”

The council’s highways department had objected to the plans on the grounds that the 20 parking spaces that would be provided would not suffice for the estimated customer capacity of 93.

However, planners decided to recommend the plans for approval despite this as the applicants would otherwise be within their rights to open the restaurant without any extra parking provision anyway.

Planners’ report said: “It was considered that the granting of planning permission, securing 20 spaces in total, would be preferable to the change being carried out without permission or the requirement to provide any parking provision at all.”

Applicants addressed concerns raised during the planning process by residents of Croome Gardens, the street behind the site, that their road could become a shortcut to access The Courtyard by agreeing to remove a back gate between the street and the site.

The couple behind the venture, Martyn Lee-Redshaw and his wife Helen, previously told the Northumberland Gazette they plan to make The Courtyard a “rustic and welcoming venue” that will become a “central community asset” through events like barbecues, quizzes, and comedy nights.