Developer resubmits plan to knock down Doncaster pub

An application to knock down the Mayflower Bar & Eatery on High Street, Austerfield has been submitted again in order to build 14 flats.

But the scheme, which was previously withdrawn back in January, has prompted a number of objections from local residents.

Nearby resident Sandra Crawford said: “I disagree wholeheartedly about this planning application. We do not want or need apartments in this small village.

“We have lost everything over the last years. Even the pub became a boutique inn instead of a village pub - that is why it lost money.

“If there is to be any development on this site, it should be small affordable housing to help younger people stay in the village.”

Other objectors said the proposal was not in line with village surroundings and problems with traffic and parking.

The proposal has also received an objection from the Doncaster branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

Dave Bartley, branch secretary, said: “The Mayflower was once a thriving village pub and a community asset.

“Austerfield has no other pubs and is unlikely to have any more in the future if this one undergoes a change of use. CAMRA is committed to preserving pubs and their role in the community. On those grounds I therefore object to this proposal.”

In a financial statement submitted to the council, the pub owner has said he has been left with ‘no other option’ but to sell and has borrowed tens of thousands to keep the eatery going.

He said that rising business rates was the main factor in relation to the financial problems and that Doncaster Council had threatened to ‘take him to court’ over unpaid rates.

He said: “Do I want to close the business? Absolutely not. Can the business remain open in this current climate? – it is just not viable.“I will be very sad to see the Mayflower go as it has been my life for the last 10 years. I do not have any more money to put into the Mayflower and I am in jeopardy of losing not only the business but the building and my home.”

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