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04
Dec 2021
Plans to convert landmark pub near Pateley Bridge into holiday cottage refused
Harrogate Borough Council has refused plans to convert The Birch Tree Inn in Wilsill into a holiday cottage.
The pub is a notable landmark on the main road from Pateley Bridge to Harrogate and has stood there for over 100 years.
Much of the building was converted into three holiday cottages five years ago, with the pub continuing to trade in a smaller area.
But documents submitted on behalf of the landlord said two tenants tried and failed to make the pub work since 2016.
It has been closed since the beginning of the covid pandemic in March 2020.
When a landlord wants to convert a pub into housing, HBC asks that the building be marketed as a pub for at least 12 months. This is to show that there is no longer interest in it operating as a public house and that the community would not be unnecessarily losing an asset.
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Documents submitted on behalf of the landlord said they had discussed opportunities to take on the pub with local restauranteurs and bar operators including William & Victoria in Harrogate.
However, they said the pub was now "unviable" as a business and so wanted to open a fourth holiday cottage, which have proved to be popular.
However, HBC was not satisfied the landlord had sufficiently marketed the building as a pub and refused the plans.
Case officer Mark Williams wrote:
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