Plans to turn Blue Lion pub into a home have been refused

The owners of the Blue Lion pub in North Pickenham submitted plans to turn their pub into a three-bedroom home earlier this year. 

However, Breckland Council has refused the plans, saying the proposal "would be an unacceptable loss of a community facility". 

Richard and Wendy Pyne, the applicants, purchased the property in 2017.

They opened the pub's doors a year later after the previous owner had closed them five years' earlier. 

Then, due to implications from the lockdowns during the pandemic the pub closed in December 2021 and the owners applied to repurpose the building in 2022.

The Blue Lion pub in North Pickenham was officially opened by George Freeman MP with landlords in 2018 (Image: Ian Burt) Breckland Council refused that proposal, saying it "would result in the loss of a local community building to the detriment of the function and well-being of the local community". 

In the new application, Planning Direct, on behalf of the couple, argued the business would not be sustainable and had been subject to a number of landlords in a short period of time. 

It said the village near Swaffham still has a community hub that "has more chance of surviving in such a challenging environment".

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Planning Direct said: "It has been demonstrated that the applicants have done their utmost to keep the business running but to no avail.

"A market test run for over a year demonstrates no appetite from any entrepreneur to take this public house on in this locality."

The application was also met with objections, with one person saying the pub provides an important role in community life and that it is the only pub in the village.

In its refusal, the council said: "The submitted supporting evidence is not considered to have demonstrated satisfactorily that the public house is not needed to meet a local need, no longer viable or an alternative facility has been provided."