SUPPORTING STATEMENT Change of Use from Public House to Residential Dwelling Site at: The Gate Inn, Smeath Lane, Clarborough, Retford, Notts, DN22 9JW Introduction This is a statement is in support of the full planning application for change of use of the building at Smeath Lane, Clarborough, to a residential dwelling house. The site is currently an empty public house with a flat above. The freehold of the site has been owned by the applicant since 2009. Scheme Outline Planning permission is sought by a private individual for conversion of the building known as The Gate Inn into a 4 bedroom detached house. The plot will use the current road access and will maintain 4 of the current 30 parking spaces. The remaining parking spaces will be converted to garden area with border hedging. The dwelling will have access on to Smeath Lane with adequate visibility in both directions via the existing access to the site. Sustainability Clarborough is a rural village in the Clarborough and Welham Parish which is located 2 miles north east of The Area, Shops and Services the town of Retford. It comprises two villages whose centres are 1 mile apart; the Parish extends to 900 hectares and the western boundary runs up to the built edge of Retford. The parish has a current total population of 1088 residents in 498 dwellings. This is a slight decline from 2001 when the population was 1,111. There are 4 farms, 3 of which are isolated on the higher terrain on the eastern side of the Parish. Clarborough was mentioned in the Doomsday Book and has been primarily an agricultural settlement for hundreds of years. However, now there are only half a dozen farmers and four smallholders. These employ very few people and the main employers today are the Central Electricity Generating Board at West Burton, Cottam Power Station and Rampton Hospital. In fact Clarborough has become a dormitory village. The Chesterfield Canal was opened in 1777 to transport minerals and iron from Derbyshire to the River Trent. The arrival of the Chesterfield Canal helped to shape the landscape and communities through which it passed. The canal runs along the outskirts of Clarborough and the neighbouring village of Hayton. There is a wharf opposite the site of The Gate Inn where goods would have been loaded and unloaded from the barges. A building was shown in this location when the canal was opened in 1777. Whether it was actually built as a pub or storage area is not known. In the early 1970's The Gate Inn consisted of one large room with a dividing partition allowing it to be split in two if required. Darts and dominoes were popular pastimes. Gentlemen wishing to relieve themselves had to go outside to an external toilet. In the 1990's, with dining now a key commercial factor, several changes were made: internal toilets were added, the dartboard was removed and a fireplace installed. What used to be part of the landlord's kitchen was converted into a public area and a pool table installed. Initially very popular, eventually this did not pay its way. A dining area, separate toilets for the diners and a conservatory area for diners were added along with a beer garden. The pub with its reputation for good food became very popular and successful. - After a number of successful years the long term freeholder then sold the pub for a substantial figure to Punch Taverns and leased it back at an annual rent of circa £65k with a tie attached to the lease so that the tenant had to by their beer from the Brewery. With the sudden death of the landlord a short while later it never regained that success. There was a quick succession of landlords, the longest only holding the tenancy for a year. The pub closed its doors for the last time at Christmas time in 2008. It was sold to the current owner in March 2009 and in mid summer 2009 planning permission was granted for it to become a private dwelling house. Photos of The Gate Inn with planning permission granted for a residential dwelling in 2009. The owners set about renovating the property but during the renovation they were approached by a prospective tenant and they decided to offer it for rent as a pub instead. A substantial amount of capital was invested. Money was spent on refurbishing the bar area with free-standing oak tables and leather chairs, bar stools and sofas. New dining tables and leather chairs were added to the restaurant and conservatory and an outside a terrace was created at the front of the building for dining. Play equipment and benches were added to the rear garden for families to enjoy. The kitchen needed new ovens, fridges, cooking utensils and crockery. Then, the prospective tenant backed out of signing the lease and the owners were left with a pub with no tenant. They decided to open it themselves in June 2011. It was thought that opening the pub free of tie they could make it a successful operation once more. The owners operated the pub for 4 years until November 2015. Staff turnover was high, chefs were particularly hard to maintain and were of varying standards. Although popular over the warmer summer months the rest of the year trade was too low to cover the fixed costs such as rates, electricity, gas and the minimum wage. Despite spending on regular advertising, various lunchtime offers and introducing a Sunday Carvery, the pub failed to entice enough trade to make it a viable business. Profit margins were under pressure from competition from chain pubs and restaurants in local towns. Other factors that have impacted on pubs generally such as the bans on drink driving and smoking inside have limited the pub trade. More recent culture changes, including increased entertainment at home, box sets on demand, internet usage and social media, have meant that spending time at the pub has become less popular. Young people are also increasingly turning away from alcohol. There has been a boom in food delivery companies such as Just Eat, and it is much easier now to order your shopping or takeaway meal on-line and have it delivered to your door. The owners decided to offer the pub for sale or rent in May 2015. The pub was listed with Christie and Co for a number of months and had no interest whatsoever, not one viewing. A new manager was employed and the pub was removed from the market in October 2015. A local business, called Style Inns, who had previously employed the then current manager, offered to rent the pub with a view to buying the freehold. This company already had another successful pub in Mansfield which they had invested in heavily. A new 5 year lease was offered at a very low rent with the promise of a sale in the freehold when the company had funds available. The company traded at a loss. The business was struck off, and the tenant ended the lease early, with no notice given, in June 2018, stating that the pub was not viable. They were no longer interested in the freehold. They moved to a new operation on a main road next to Sherwood Pines where they invested a significant sum of money. Another new 5 year lease was created in June 2018 to a live in couple, and recognising the challenges faced by the pub, the owners offered them a similar low rent. They had extensive experience and they believed they could make a decent living from the pub free of tie, but again the business failed and in March 2021 the tenant ended the lease early, with no notice given, stating that the pub was not viable. Admittedly the pandemic may have played a part in this but it was also obvious that the tenant was struggling to invest funds back into the business even before this, as the pub began to look tired, the furniture inside and outside was tatty and the kitchen only achieved a 1 star hygiene rating in January 2020. The perimeter fencing, sign age and car park surface have not been maintained. There is a significant pothole at the entrance. The owners have concluded that in order to open the pub again now a significant amount of investment would be needed, similar to that required when it was opened in 2011, and even then any new tenant or owner would face similar struggles in increasing trade to profitable levels in such a rural location. They have themselves tried various options available over a period of ten years free of tie, different managers, offering for sale and offering low rent and none have been successful. There are two other pubs within walking distance of The Gate Inn and it has been seen over the preceding years that the local population has not sustained having three pubs in such close proximity. The Kings Arms is located in the central area of Clarborough, on the A620, next to the village shop and close to the village primary school and village hall. The Boat Inn is located on the canal in the neighbouring village of Hayton. All three pubs are within easy walking distance of each other and all three pubs have suffered from closures over the last few years. Indeed at one point all three pubs were closed. The King's Arms is now the only operating pub in Clarborough. It dates back to c.1860 although may earlier have been a farm house.