Plans to build house on car park of Cottingham pub set for approval tonight

Planning officers are recommending the proposal to build the three-bed detached property on the car park of the Spread Eagle at the junction of High Street/Rockingham Road and School Lane is approved.

However the plan has been met with resistance from both the parish council, the highways authority and local residents who say a new house on the site would cause parking problems as well as making the pub less viable.

It comes just two years after a plan to turn the pub itself into a house failed. The venue has now re-opened and is doing better business after an appeal to the local community from its landlord.

The local highways authority is not a fan of the application. Its officer says: “Given the nature of the location, parking on the highway will, very likely, cause obstruction around the complex junction.”

The application says that the number of car park spaces for the pub will reduce from 23 to 12 – with the rest of the space taken up by the planned new house and three private parking spaces. There will be a disabled space close to the pub down a side street.

The parish council is not happy about the new proposed entrance to the car park from narrow School Lane and is also concerned it could cause off street parking issues.

Residents also have a number of concerns with 20 households lodging objections to the scheme with many fearing pub users will be forced to park on the nearby highway if parking spaces are reduced.

However, Corby Council’s conservation officer has not objected to the plan.

They say in the report: “From a conservation point of view small scale development of the car park is to be encouraged, in order to enhance the prominent node within the centre of the village. However, any development in this area, must be high quality and reflect the characteristics of the village. The proposed dwelling must retain the low level stone boundary walling, to the car park, which is characteristic of the site and the village at large.

“The proposed dwelling is of similar massing and scale to the surrounding cottages, in terms of overall size, eaves height, ridge height and overall proportions, whilst reflecting the changes in styles and proportions of the surrounding street scene. There is historic evidence of small scale cottages, previously demolished running from the junction along School Lane and the simple return of the dwelling and the roofscape reflects the character of these previously lost cottages.”

The planning committee will make a decision on Monday (Dec 16) at Corby Cube.