Save the Raven Inn campaigners submit 39-page objection document in latest planning battle

VILLAGERS campaigning to save the Raven Inn at Glazebury have submitted a 39-page document in their latest planning battle to save the historic pub from demolition.

The objections submitted by the Help Save the Raven team to the planning application to demolish the Raven Inn and replace it with a housing development, have recently been made public on the Warrington Borough Council website.
The group engaged Dale Ingram, a specialist with 21 years in the field of Town Planning and Heritage Conservation, eleven of them specifically for pubs, to help them and as a result a 39-page document has been submitted to the planning department.

The document lists four substantive objections, any one of which, it argues, amounts to grounds to refuse the application.
The objections are:
1.The applicant has failed to demonstrate that the substantial harm which would be caused to the significance of the heritage asset by its total destruction and replacement with new residential development, or the loss of employment use, is justified. This is sufficient reason to refuse the application.
2.At least three parties, and possibly more, have expressed a willingness to acquire the Raven Inn for ongoing public house use, which is indicative (if not probative) of viability. Together with the fact that the site is listed as an ACV and the community’s resistance to attempts to develop the site has been robust, these are sufficient grounds for refusing permission for the change of use applied for.
3.The proposed development is contrary to the local plan and national policy for the protection of the Green Belt. This is sufficient reason to refuse the application for the development proposed.
4.The fact that the community both for itself and in the person of the White Knight attempt (local businessmen buying the pub, for the community) as a community/not-for-profit enterprise or a social benefit, adds considerable weight, we say, to the listing. It should be taken into account in the planning balance with other matters to refuse permission for the demolition, change of use and new construction at the Raven Inn site. The weight to be given to the community’s engagement in the Raven Inn’s protection from both demolition and change of use should therefore be substantial.
Campaign group spokesperson Peter Sturman said: “Dale Ingram has considerable experience and a very good reputation. We feel the document is detailed, well researched and makes a compelling case for refusal of the planning application.
“We also feel the majority of the substantive objections would apply to any further attempt to develop the Raven site.”