Plans go in to convert Pinchbeck pub into shop - but objections raised

Objections have been raised about plans to convert a derelict pub into a convenience store.

The Bell Inn has been a blight in the historic centre of Pinchbeck for many years as it has stood empty and boarded up after suffering vandalism and fire damage.

Now Venture Business Space Ltd has applied to South Holland District Council to change the use of the pub into a convenience store along with building eight homes at the rear of the site.

Pinchbeck Parish Council agreed to object to the application after concerns were raised about the impact on the village’s conservation area and the already busy Church Street.

Council chairman Ann Savage expressed concerns at Monday’s meeting about how the store could affect the road network.

Speaking at the June 23 meeting she said: “Whenever the store gets stocked up there will be a lorry with a tail lift and with a slight bend in the road there, it will be a problem.”

In 2023, Wirrall-based Charlotte Properties was granted planing permission to convert the pub into five flats along with building nine bungalows at the rear.

This development never came to fruition and the site was sold last year for just under £1million.

Coun James Avery, who was speaking in his role as a parish councillor but also represents the village on the district council, highlighted that the convenience store could increase traffic flows along with creating noise and lighting issues.

He said: “The convenience store is slap bang in the middle of the conservation area, and I’m not sure that is the right location for a convenience store.”

Documents lodged with the application outline the bid to create a 225 sqm convenience store which will be open seven days a week between 6am and 11pm.

The applicant wants to keep the front and roof of The Bell but is looking to demolish the rear two storey extension. The white paint could also be stripped back to reveal the original brick work if approved.

It also wants to remove the main staircase and says the first floor will be ‘inaccessible and unused’.

The planning statement says that the application would ‘secure the retention and refurbishment of a prominent building in the Conservation Area’.

It also states that Pinchbeck has seen the building of ‘a large number of houses’ in recent years.

The report goes onto say: “As Pinchbeck has no defined shopping area, the site is within the development limit, and the development is intended to provide for local residents, there is no practical purpose in looking for a site elsewhere in or outside Pinchbeck.”