Agenda item

Officers introduced this report and made the following points:

·       The site was a former public house in South Bristol. Details of the frontage site were shown

·       There would be accommodation for 2 HMO’s with 11 buildings and refuse storage on site

·       112 public response had been received, all from Hartcliffe. Objections were mainly due to HMO use and character

·       There was no significant alternative provision including within walking distance

·       There were two elements to the policy in this area – a suitable alternative in the area or existing use being viable. Officers were satisfied that it was not viable.

·       There were no other HMO’s within a 100 metre radius of the area.

·       There were no objections from the Police or from highways who had indicated that they were happy with parking including street parking

Officers then responded to Councillors’ questions as follows:

·       Whilst the original feasibility study response addressed some of the CAMRA criteria, there remained an issue concerning the diversification in areas such as food which was not included. It was reasonable in other respects. As a residential pub in a suburban housing estate, it was unlikely to be a draw for tourism. It was also noted that the rugby club was not yet on stream

·       45 of the objections were from within a 200 meter radius. The vast majority were from the Hartcliffe and Withywood area

·       There had been no changes to the marketing of the site for the last 15/16 months

·       Whilst it was acknowledged from sliding data that there had been a slight increase in customers at the pub during 2018/19 just before the pandemic, the information included in the report had been obtained from the assessment which had taken place during the COVID period.

·       There was no scrutiny on the numbers obtained from the assessment which had been taken on trust. These required a declaration of accuracy Officers were not qualified to analyse the information provided.

·       Whilst officers used external consultants to assess Housing schemes, there was no expertise available for assessing alternative provision and viability in commercial operations. However, officers could carry out comparisons with other schemes to assess whether the assessments were broadly reasonable

·       Living space standards were used during the assessment which were different to nationally proscribed standards

·       The policy did allow independent verification of viability. However, officers did not have access to regular expertise in this area

·       The criteria for external verification stated that there should be no HMO’s within 100 metres. If this application was approved, these would be the only two HMO’s in the area. Some local residents had raised concerns in the past about local affordability. It was beneficial for there to be a wide range of accommodation

·       Triggers on financial tests had not been carried out in the past for pubs in Bristol

·       Councillors’ concerns were acknowledged about taking guests into account in the assessment. However, the numbers did meet the criteria for the survey and highway officers were satisfied with the assessment. It was confirmed that 4 spaces would be required on site

·       It was noted that people using cars outside the development might choose to park on the pavement. However, this was not something that could be controlled and could not be taken into account in the assessment.

·       No assumptions could be made as to whether or not there would a need for disabled parking with a development of this size.

·       Officers had attempted to obtain information concerning a nearby shop which might operating illegally but had been unsuccessful

During debate, Councillors made the following comments:

·       Good community pubs were very important and had already been under huge pressure before the pandemic. There had been a major reduction in the provision of such facilities in wards in nearby areas of the city

·       The viability report could not be ignored in terms of a future pub on this site. It also noted that in order to make it viable, employees might need to be paid less than the minimum wage. There was a need for alternative housing in the area which was affordable for young people. Whilst a plethora of HMO’s caused problems in some areas, it would add to the mix in this area

·       Space standards were more than acceptable. The application was acceptable on the grounds of noise, pollution and transport. The site was near a showcase bus route. Parking seemed reasonable in view of the survey indicating off street parking

·       Officers and residents were thanked for their comments. Whilst the loss of a pub to this area is a blow, there had been no other proposals put forward. There were not many HMO’s in the area and there would be a Premises Management Plan. In addition, there were no objections from the Police and the highways team were satisfied with the proposal. The application should therefore reluctantly be supported

·       This was a difficult decision to make. It was unfortunate that a decision needed to be made on data that had not been fully scrutinised. However, based on the information received, the application should be supported

·       Whilst it was disappointing to see a pub closing, it was not financially viable to continue. In addition, there continued to be a significant amount of anti-social behaviour in the area. It was disappointing to see some of the comments that had been made concerning vulnerable people who might be residents of the HMOs. Whilst the viability report was not ideal, the application should be supported

·       There was insufficient information to make a decision. In particular, the financial information provided was insufficient

Councillor Richard Eddy moved, seconded by Councillor Chris Jackson and upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED (5 for, 2 against, 2 abstentions) – that the application be approved as set out in the report.

Following a further brief discussion concerning the need to strengthen the viability assessments into the future of community pubs, it was further

RESOLVED (unanimously) – that Councillor Richard Eddy writes to the Director (Development of Place) to consider raising the threshold employed by Development Management in its viability assessments into the future of community pubs.