Former hair salon in Craven Arms can be converted into pub extension after plans approved
A former hair salon can be converted into an extension of the pub next door after plans were given the green light.
The Stables, on Dale Street in Craven Arms, had lodged plans with Shropshire Council to convert the next-door building into an extension of the premises.
It was previously the Cut and Curl hair salon, which has closed down.
Tony Davies had applied for a change of use from the former hairdressing salon to a "sui generis" extension to the public house, which he said would become a "quieter" seated area for the existing pub premises.
Trystan Williams, a planning officer at Shropshire Council, said the proposal involved the loss of a retail unit in Craven Arms’ designated town centre.
However, under the council’s Site Allocations and Management of Development Plan Policy, the town is classed as a ‘Category A’ centre, meaning it lacks a primary shopping area where changes away from retail use are necessarily resisted.
Therefore, said Mr Williams, the scheme is acceptable in principle.
“The floorspace would instead be used for another commercial purpose also classed as a ‘main town centre use’ under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and specifically to expand the existing adjacent public house, which is an important community facility,” he said.
“Moreover, there is the fallback of an extant permission for conversion into a private dwelling. The council’s regulatory services team is satisfied that the expanded pub is unlikely to pose a noise nuisance since the adjacent property to the west is not in residential use.”
