Revised housing plans for empty village pub

The Mermaid Inn in Surfleet closed at the start of the Covid 19 outbreak

Revised plans have been submitted to convert an empty village pub into homes.

The Mermaid Inn in Surfleet in Lincolnshire closed at the start of the Covid pandemic.

South Holland District Council approved an application to turn it into five flats.

However, after no interest in the development the plans have been altered to two semi-detached houses, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

When the plans were first submitted in January 2023, planning documents revealed that the pub had been running at a loss for the previous four years and was subsidised by the owners through their farming business, according to LDRS.

The riverside property was eventually put on the market with an asking price of around £700,000, but the highest offer received was reportedly only £500,000.

In the revised planning application, conservation officers and building control said that "the proposed development would have a lesser impact on the area as opposed to the five apartments".

“Other than the installation of a new door on the rear elevation there will be no external changes to the building or external areas," the report added.

“The proposed scheme will be in character with the area of Surfleet and the change of use will have no effect on the design and scale of the building."

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