AN application to demolish the Moorcroft Inn in Okehampton and build houses and bungalows on the site was rejected for a third time by planners meeting in Tavistock this week.
West Devon?s planning committee heard that two identical applications to build eight detached dwellings on the site had been dismissed on appeal by planning inspectors in August last year and March this year.
Mrs Woodman, speaking on behalf of applicant Sylvan Developments, said a viability report prepared for this application by a firm specialising in the brewing trade had revealed the Moorcroft was not viable and there was ?compelling evidence? that refusal would be against West Devon?s own policies.
Ken Porcher, speaking on behalf of residents in the area, said older residents of Okehampton would remember the Moorcroft Inn being a ?pleasant and active place?.
?The A30 finished that facility as a going concern ? you can see very clearly it?s very tatty, certainly non-profit making,? said Mr Porcher.
He said the 60 to 70-year-old Moorcroft was an ?eyesore? which did not fit in with the modern buildings around it ? the proposed new dwellings would create a more pleasant entrance at the eastern end of the town, he said.
But Cllr Noel Cartwright did not ?place much value? on the Moorcroft?s most recent viability report.
He said there was ?considerable support? from residents at Giblands and given the expansion of the town there should be plenty of scope to build the business up in future.
Cllr Jayne Hill said previous owners of the Moorcroft had ?spent a fortune? refurbishing the hotel only a few years ago.
?I don?t think it would take much to scrub it back into some kind of decent shape ? it then puts a question mark on some of the information in this report,? she said.
Debbie Hazell spoke to the committee on behalf of her mother, Jan Hazell, who has expressed an interest in buying the Moorcroft.
She said rapid expansion in housing and businesses was taking place at this end of the town, but there were no facilities for residents or workers.
?You?re just off the A30, the town is growing, there is so much potential there, it just needs a lot of tender loving care, but it could be improved to what it was in its heyday,? said Miss Hazell.
Chris Watson, principal planning officer, told the committee in his report that the council had no specific policy which protected facilities like public houses in main settlements, as opposed to rural areas.
But he said the most recent planning inspector?s decision ?constituted a material and important planning consideration? in determining the application.
He said: ?Given the inspector?s conclusion that the loss of the public house would be undesirable, particularly given the local plan allocation for significant new housing development in this part of Okehampton, officers recommend in this instance that planning permission should be refused.?