Row over bid to transform historic former pub near Hartlepool into housing

Wolviston’s Ship Inn called last orders at the end of 2019 before proposals to convert the 19th High Street pub into apartments were withdrawn late last year.

But new plans emerged to turn the old pub into a family home with a balcony on the first floor with old outbuildings to be knocked down.

The proposals drew a mixed reception from the village.

Supporters told Stockton Borough Council there were other pubs around and welcomed it becoming a four-bedroom home.

But objectors were worried about the loss of a community hub and what it could mean for parking and traffic in Wolviston.

Now applicant Alan Moutrey has appealed against a delay in a decision by the council.

Appeal documents on behalf of the developer showed the authority was set to refuse the bid if the decision remained with the council.

Impacts on highway safety – with worries cars would not be able to get out without reversing – meant transport officials didn’t back the plans.

Loss of privacy for a nearby home and the “loss of a community facility without justification” also counted against the bid in the council’s eyes.

But the developer argues that the council recently approved a bid to convert the former Sutton Arms, in Elton, into housing, adding: “The public house was the only such facility in that village.”

“Wolviston has two public houses – one just 10 yards away and another just 500 yards away.”

The national Planning Inspectorate is expected to decide what happens next.