A former public house in the Forest of Bowland is to be converted into five homes after the proposals were granted planning permission by Ribble Valley Borough Council.
The plans to convert the Newdrop Inn at Knowle Green, near Longridge, have been brought forward by John and Sue Barr who have owned and operated the pub since 1982.
The conversion plans involve splitting the current pub building into five self-contained three and four-bedroom family homes by reconfiguring the internal space.
The applicants have been advised by planning consultants at PWA Planning.
Daniel Hughes, associate at PWA, said: “The pub has seen a significant decline in trade in recent years and despite being actively marketed for sale for over three years no buyer was found and our client took the difficult decision to close the pub earlier this year.
“These plans provide a new long-term solution for the building, one that retains the historic fabric of the structure and respects its rural location.
“It’s extremely rare that opportunities arise to create new homes in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and this sympathetic conversion enables our client to achieve financial security after many years of hard work in the hospitality trade.”
Access to the homes will continue to be from the pub’s former car park, though this will be significantly reduced in size with part of it being returned to open agricultural grassland.
Historical records show that the building was used as a pub as early as 1841. It was previously known as the White Cross and is thought to have been renamed as The Newdrop Inn around 1948.
