Blue Bell Inn, Main Road, Hop Pole, Spalding, PE11 3HL

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• The effect of the development on the Blue Bell Inn, a non-designated heritage asset (NDHA)
• Whether the development would accord with the local development plan with regard to location
• Whether the development would accord with the local development plan with regard to town centre uses
• Highway safety
• The effect of the development on the living conditions of future and existing occupiers, with particular regard to noise and disturbance

What decided it

The cumulative harm arising from conflicts with multiple local plan policies regarding heritage, location, town centre uses, highway safety and living conditions, combined with the lack of objective evidence to support the claimed tourism and economic benefits, outweighed the modest public benefits of four dwellings in an unsustainable location.

The provision of four dwellings and improved visual appearance of the site frontage were outweighed by the loss of the non-designated heritage asset, the intensification of use in an unsustainable countryside location contrary to local policies, the inadequate parking provision creating highway safety concerns, the adverse effect on living conditions of future occupiers from noise and disturbance, and the lack of evidence to support the claimed tourism and economic benefits.