November 18, 2021 12.46 pm This story is over 43 months old

Village pub to finally reopen… after 10-year closure

There’ll be a takeaway too
Bay Horse pub, Garthorpe, which is set to be redeveloped Credit: Google Maps

A village’s only pub will open again nearly ten years after it last served locals.

The Bay Horse in Garthorpe, near Scunthorpe, is to be brought back into use and divided into a takeaway, a shop and three flats as well as a pub.

A shortage of parking spaces caused a delay as councillors went to see the pub for themselves, but it has now been given the  go-ahead.

Ward councillor John Briggs said the decision was a tough choice for the village, who wanted it to open but feared potential parking ‘tension’.

“I am very supportive of the pub reopening, particularly when we more often deal with them closing,” he said.

“However, I have my concerns about parking. If there are four parking spaces and four flats, something doesn’t add up.

“If there is a busy pub and a thriving takeaway, where will customers park? They will have to park on the street or block residents’ driveways, creating tension.

“It’s simply not enough.

“There’s no demand for flats, which are less in keeping with the character of the village.”

The two separate applications which were brought by RJE Planning & Development would see the large pub condensed to a smaller size.

The Bay Horse closed in 2012 after the landlady left with no replacement.

Councillor Julie Reed said: “I support a rural business coming back online, but the application has to be appropriate for it.

“The village doesn’t have the greatest access, and this could compound the parking problems.

“Additionally, we have already seen in this area where a developer gets permission to create new properties but the pub remains closed.”

Members of the planning committee were told they couldn’t legally make the pub reopening a condition of passing approval.

The developer had previously told the committee reopening the pub alone wouldn’t be financially viable, and the flats were needed in order for the project to go ahead.

Councillor Mick Grant said the pub was currently in an “horrendous state” and “we need to do something about it”.

Council officers assured the committee that the additional traffic shouldn’t cause a problem.

The committee was willing to overlook residents’ concerns in order to see the pub reopen, and both applications passed unanimously.