Plans to convert Sowerby Bridge pub into commercial space and homes have been submitted

Owner Mr Stephen Keen of Units-To-Let Northern Ltd has applied to Calderdale Council seeking to make changes the Stirk Bridge Inn at Scar Head Road, Sowerby Bridge.

These include changing use of the ground floor from public house to commercial use, and renovating the upper floors to form a home.

The application also includes part-demolition of existing single storey buildings on the site to create access and parking for two newly proposed semi-detached homes within the site.

According to the design, access and heritage statement compiled for the applicant by Moreton Deakin Associates and submitted with the plans, the inn dates from at least the early 19th century and historical sources indicate a pub of this name in this location being recorded as far back as the 16th century, and with landlords identified as far back as 1800.

It is located partially within Calderdale’s Conservation Area for Sowerby Bridge.

The application argues that a number of applications have been made in recent years to re-purpose the site, which fronts onto Bridge Street and Scar Head Road, because it has become unviable as a pub.

At the heart of the application between balancing retention the site and redeveloping is the intrinsic worth of the buildings proposed for removal, say the papers.

The applicant argues that the structures proposed for demolition would have served a secondary purpose, subservient to the use of the former pub, and offer little in terms of architectural merit.

It has also been noted in a prior application that there had been no interest in running the pub as a community venture.

“Removal of these buildings provides an opportunity to revitalise and breathe new life into a small corner of the conservation area whilst retaining the focal point of the recognisable former public house,” says the supporting statement.

Development of the two semi-detached, three storey, three or four-bedroomed homes which would set back from the pub would be “reasonably modest” in scale of development, argues the application, number 24/00737/FUL, which can be viewed on the council’s Planning Portal.