Bid to turn 500-year-old pub into home refused

The Angel Inn, on Debenham's High Street, closed in 2019

Plans to convert a 500-year-old village pub into a home have been turned down for a third time.

Members of Mid Suffolk District Council’s planning committee said the Angel Inn in the High Street, Debenham, which closed in 2019, had not had the "chance to shine and prove its worth".

The authority first refused the plans in March 2021, and the planning inspectorate came to the same decision in February.

Councillor Teresa Davis said the Angel Inn was "an integral part of the fabric of Debenham and its High Street" and it needed to "remain part" of village life.

'Crucial to village life'

Katherine Barlow, vice chairman of Debenham Parish Council, said: "The High Street is integral to any town or village, and none more so than in Debenham.

"We’re not short of residential properties within the village.

"We are short, however, of social spaces and with no public transport in the evenings, weekends, and with limited services during the weekdays, these sorts of spaces are crucial to village life."

She believed the pub could be turned into a youth centre, pop-up restaurant, tourist information centre, or any other community building, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Ms Davis, a Green councillor, said the village was "an oasis of service" and the pub had not been given the "chance to shine and prove its worth".

"[The Angel] is an integral part of the fabric of Debenham and its High Street — 500 years later it remains an eye-catching beauty.

"Whether it be in the hands of an entrepreneur, or the community, The Angel needs to remain part of the life of Debenham.

"To lose this prime employment plot within the retail core of Debenham would be wrong."

The applicant, who was not present at the meeting, took the council's 2021 decision to the planning inspectorate.

The final decision on the updated application will now go back to the planning inspectorate, as the council had not discussed the application in time.