The council had granted planning permission in 1999 for a residential building that retained the ground floor and basement of the pub subject to significant alterations. The inspector accepted that the premises had originally contained features associated with a pub including a bar, but these had been removed since the business ceased trading in 1997.
By the time the LDC application was submitted, she found, the building appeared as a three-storey terrace of residential properties with rooms at ground and basement levels. In her view, no sign remained of the former pub use. In the light of the building's physical condition and the owner's intention to implement the residential permission, she held that the previous lawful use of the ground and basement floors had been abandoned.
DCS Number 100-051-114
Inspector Diane Lewis; Written representations.