Plans to convert Derbyshire village pub into convenience store stirs up flood of objections

Mr S Dhaliwal has applied to North East Derbyshire District Council for change of use consent for The Corner Pin on Station Road, Morton.

A community facility report in support of his application states that the pub has seen a diminishing number of punters, from approximately 30-50 people on a Friday/Saturday night to between 10 - 15 people over the last three years. The unnamed author of the report said: “My client is reluctant to close the pub, however financially it doesn’t make sense, but he also doesn’t want an empty building, which I understand as vacant building create unruly behaviour and loitering causing damage etc. We have investigated the route of renting the pub out to other tenant, but on valuations the price the pub would cost to rent and manage there is no profit for the new tenant, which make the proposal unviable.

“I suggested keeping the first floor as residential but to alter the ground floor from a public house to a convenience store. The benefits of this would make the building viable and allow shop staff to live on site.”

The report concludes: “To save the building and to ensure a community facility for the future, our opinion is that to change the use to allow convenience store, this would be profitable and motivate the owner to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the property, our design will ensure the existing elevations remain so no external modification. The only change would be the usage.”

However, David McCabe of Dale Close, Stonebroom has refuted the reported decline in the number of regular weekend customers at the pub. In a letter to the council, he said: “The number of regular punters on a Friday/Saturday falling from 50 to 10 in the three years of their ownership is untrue and that the footfall has not dramatically changed during this time, and in the interest of fairness probably falls somewhere in the middle of that range on normal occasions at the very least. The author would also like you to believe that the pub only services a couple of hundred local houses. Again conveniently failing to identify that Morton is an expanding village where two new estates have been built creating around 150+ new homes and that's not taking into account the rest of the village of Morton that already exists.

“There has been a concerning trend across the country of the decline in numbers of public houses remaining which is evident that 20+ public houses within a two mile radius of The Corner Pin having closed since year 2000. Losing another public house unnecessarily due to a change in business use would put another nail into the coffin of the already at risk village community way of life of which The Corner Pin is, and has been an integral part of for many years.

“The Corner Pin is a regularly used public house that provides a venue for teams in local community leagues, participants and teams for local village charity events, and a base to host/run regular trips that up to 50 people attend.”

Trevor Pell of Bacchus Way, Morton, wrote: “I have used The Corner Pin for over 40 years and in my opinion the pub should be kept as it was meant to be. There are no pubs in Stonebroom, only one other pub in the village and the closest to any other such places are over a mile away but there is only a limited bus service that people can use. Therefore I think that The Corner Pin should stay as a public house as there are a lot of older people in and around Morton that benefit from The Corner Pin as somewhere they can get away and meet friends.”

Cameron Taylor of Hallgate Lane, Pilsley commented: “I don’t believe that changing The Corner Pin into a convenience (store) should happen. From experience, it is a great place that locals and people from surrounding areas go to. Very busy every weekend and during the week. Within a three mile radius there are plenty of shops including one just up the road from The Corner Pin (Morton Post Office).”

Mr Dhaliwal’s application is awaiting a decision from the council as planning authority.