Owners fail with homes bid for village pub

Michael Alexander, The Courier, 11 May 2002

The owners of an East Neuk village pub have failed in their bid to persuade a Scottish Executive Reporter that their business premises were no longer viable and should be subdivided into two houses.

The applicants, Alistair and Anne Fraser, applied to subdivide and alter the Cambo Arms Hotel, Kingsbarns, to form a twin residence.

An Executive Reporter has now ruled that although the development would have no effect on the character of the listed building the permanent loss of the pub would be detrimental to the character of the conservation area. He also said arguments surrounding the viability of the business had not been proved.

The findings, described as “very interesting” by at least one Fife councillor yesterday, follows the decision by Fife Council’s east area development committee to reject the application last June.

The pub, on the site for 400 years, has been closed since November 2000 and the owners have argued the business was not viable, pointing out that efforts to sell the property as a pub had failed.

However, on the advice of Fife Council’s planning service and after hearing that hundreds of villagers had petitioned against losing their only hostelry, councillors agreed unanimously to refuse the application on the grounds that the bar was a central pivot of community life.

Drawing the issues together, the Reporter concluded, “The permanent loss of the public house would detrimentally effect the character of the conservation area. The proposed development would have no effect on the character or setting of the listed building. The position of the development plan are either not relevant or not in conflict with the proposed development.

“The question of the unviability of the business has not been proven and there are no other material considerations which would justify detrimentally effecting the character of the conservation area upholding the appeal. Accordingly, I dismiss the appeal and refuse to grant planning permission for the subdivision and alterations to the bar, hotel and dwelling house to form two dwelling houses.”

Yesterday no-one from the Cambo Arms could be contacted for comment.