Green light to convert former village pub the Maypole Inn

The Maypole Inn closed its doors in 2018 following the death of landlord Keith Morris, who had run the Acton Bridge pub with wife Brenda since 1984.

Initial plans to transform the site were rejected by Cheshire West and Chester Council before an appeal against that decision was dismissed last May.

But with the housing scheme reduced, developers have now secured the green light to call time on the Maypole Inn once and for all.

The original proposal was to convert the pub into three homes and build a further three homes on the car park, but the approved scheme is to convert the pub into just one five-bedroom home, with a single-storey rear extension.

When the appeal was dismissed last year, the Planning Inspectorate ruled there was insufficient evidence to conclude the Maypole Inn was no longer needed as a community asset.

Acton Bridge Parish Council advertised it as an asset on its website, but had no interest in the site for two months.

Five households objected to the latest proposal, while the parish council argued it would be ‘disproportionate and harmful to neighbours’.

Despite the concerns – and with a covenant now in place preventing the building being used as another pub – CWAC has agreed the conversion can take place.

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In making a decision, CWAC officer Katie Richardson said: “A covenant was placed on the building when it was sold by the previous owner, thereby preventing it from being used either as a drinking establishment or restaurant in the future.

“The exercise undertaken [by Acton Bridge Parish Council] is considered sufficient to demonstrate that the application site is surplus to the needs of the community and that it can't be put to an alternative community use.

“The revised proposals are not considered to represent inappropriate development in the green belt and would preserve the character and appearance of the locally listed building.”