Plan to convert Barnby Dun pub into a Co-op deferred due to councillors' concerns

Councillors decided to not make a decision on plans to refurbish the now closed Star Inn pub on High Street in Barnby Dun and transform it into a Co-op store and a 15-space car park.

Resident Ann Richards spoke against the application. She said: “I’ve lived here 45 years and the traffic has definitely increased and cars go really fast down there.

“It’s a blind bend as you approach the pub so I honestly don’t know how all the HGVs pulling in for deliveries are going to manage it – it’s going to make the road even more unsafe and the noise in the morning will also increase.

“There’s been interest in buying the building but it’s only available for rent. If it was for sale, I know many people who want to take the building on. We already have a Spar a five minute walk away with the Post Office.”

Planning officer Alicia Murray recommended the application should be and said the building in its current form is ‘somewhat of an eyesore’.

She said: “The Star Inn has been vacant for over two years and was opening and closing on and off for a number of years prior to March 2017, which shows that a number of tenants have been unable to make the public house viable.

“The proposal would result in an intensification of the site and would result in more trip generation and earlier opening hours, however it is considered that the mitigation proposed and the details supplied with this application justify this change of use without harming the amenity or highway safety of the area.”

Doncaster Council’s planning team received 10 letters of objection to the proposal.

The building is described as a 1920s red brick traditional village pub.

Matthew Rose, the planning agent on behalf of the Co-op, said the store would bring a number of jobs and the village would also benefit from the company’s community ‘give-back’ schemes.

But councillors took issue around the number of HGVs delivering stock each day and the loss of trees.

A site visit will take place next month before the application comes back before the committee.