Microbrewery to become living quarters

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Friday, 21 June 2019 19:29

By Andrew Morris - Local Democracy Reporter

A former microbrewery at a village pub will be transformed into living quarters.

The Red Lion in Cheswardine, near Market Drayton, has been granted planning permission to turn the former on-site brewery into accommodation.

The pub was granted permission by Shropshire Council officers under delegated powers.

The building was opened as a microbrewery in 2005 and remained in use until 2018, when the pub was sold to the Jensen family.

Since then it has been used as a storage building but will now be given a fresh lease of life.

In the application, the Jensen’s said: “The new owners do not wish to utilise the building for brewing as it would be too expensive to purchase new equipment and buy in the knowledge for brewing.

“The existing living accommodation in the Red Lion itself is substandard and is in desperate need of renovation to provide basic facilities, upgrading of services and improvements to insulation and other building elements, together with complete redecoration.

“The owners wish to undertake this work progressively and it makes sense to utilise the now-defunct microbrewery building as living accommodation while renovation works take place as this could take up to two years.”

It added: “Following completion of the renovation work, the building will be used as permanent accommodation for younger members of the Jensen family or Mr Jensen’s elderly father, who currently resides in Denmark.”

Granting permission, Shropshire Council planning case officer Sue Collins, said: “The premises are located within the village of Cheswardine and is therefore surrounded by residential properties with the highway passing to the front of the site.

“There is a large forecourt to the public house which is used for parking as well as a car park located at the rear.

“In 2017 planning permission was granted for the change of use of the premises to a dwelling, however it appears that the public house is now being run by new owners who are seeking to ensure the facility remains.

“While the building is of no historic merit having been built within the last 20 years, the building is on site and has been constructed to a good standard and has been well-maintained.

“The applicants have indicated that they do not wish to pursue the brewery use of the structure and are looking to re-use the building.

“It is considered that the principle of the use of the building for an annexe to the public house is acceptable.

“However, the scale of the proposal and the lack of private amenity space would not make this suitable as a permanent dwelling.

“Therefore a condition will be imposed restricting the occupation of the accommodation so that it is not sold, let or occupied other than in connection with the public house.”

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