A call to keep the use of a first floor of a rural Pembrokeshire pub which has been used as a dwelling for decades has been submitted to county planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council Gareth Evans has applied for a certificate of lawful development at The Old Inn, Crow Hill to Folly, Camrose, near Haverfordwest to confirm an existing use of the first floor of Ye Olde Inn as a self-contained residential dwelling.

An application for a certificate of lawfulness allows an applicant to keep a development if they can provide proof of occupancy over a prolonged period.

In his application, Mr Evans says the first floor of the Old Inn has “operated as a self-contained residential flat for many decades, with its own independent external access via external stairs, separate kitchen, bathroom, living accommodation and bedrooms,” adding: “The use is long-established, has been supported by multiple planning permissions, and has been formally recognised through separate council tax assessment for a significant period.”

He adds: “On the balance of probabilities, the combination of historic planning permissions expressly authorising extensions to living accommodation, together with Valuation Office Agency and council tax records, demonstrates that the first floor has been in continuous use as a self-contained dwelling for well in excess of four decades.”

A supporting statement says historic planning permissions at Ye Old Inn were granted, in 1975, for alterations and extensions which included first-floor residential accommodation including bedrooms; a 1978 application for “extensions to living accommodation and provision of bottle store,” a further 1979 permission, and a 1992 application for “extension to dwelling and public house” which the applicant says “expressly include extension to the dwelling (residential element), with detailed first-floor residential layouts shown”.

It goes on to say: “The applicant purchased the property in January 2023 and therefore does not possess all historic ownership records. Accordingly, reliance is placed upon the council’s own archive records, together with VOA and rating records, as independent evidence of the long-established residential use.

“These permissions demonstrate that the residential use of the first floor has been formally recognised and extended through the planning system over many decades. The use has therefore been lawful for well in excess of 10 years.”

It says the flat had its own council tax band from April 2005 until it was formally deleted with effect from January 2023 following a VOA agreement after fire safety modernisation works were carried out to bring the property into compliance with current regulations.

The lawfulness call application will be considered by county planners at a later date.

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