Victorian pub to be knocked down and rebuilt

The Pineberry pub in Queensbury has been closed since 2014

Plans to demolish and rebuild a crumbling 19th-Century pub have been approved by a planning committee.

The Pineberry pub in Queensbury has been damaged by rumblings from passing trucks, which led to the pub closing in 2014.

Last year David Ripley submitted a planning application to Bradford Council to rebuild the pub further in from the road, and build new manager’s accommodation, a car park with EV charging bays and a holiday let.

Planning officer Jo Steel said it was a rare application that would retain, rather than replace, a long-standing pub.

He said the stone from the demolished pub would be reused as part of the development, and that the expanded business would create up to 30 jobs.

He added: “There is a national trend of pub closures, and there have been eight pubs closed in the local area.

"This is evidenced by the Fleece in Clayton, which was recently granted approval to be converted into housing.”

The pub is opposite Foxhill Primary School, which also dates back to the 1800s.

Though the site is on green belt land, planning officers said the rules did not apply to this development because there had been a building on the site since the 1850s.

As part of the application there were 51 letters supporting the plans and one objection, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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