A grade II listed pub nicknamed ‘The Rag’ was the last publicly accessible building for an entire village
The pub is a Grade II listed building
A former village pub described as ‘vital to the wellbeing of a community’ is to be converted into flats.
The grade II Lord Raglan pub, in the village of Nangreaves on the outskirts of Bury, was the subject of a change of use application heard before Bury’s planning committee this week.
Applicants Windlehurst Estates put forward the application for the pub, known to local as ‘The Rag’, at the northern end of the former cotton mill complex and associated factory village of Mount Pleasant.
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It is accessed off a cobbled road which rises up hill towards Harden Moor. Windlehurst have now gained approval to convert the pub, which closed in 2018, into five, two-bedroom apartments.
Villager Jim Metcalfe, who before he retired was a chartered planner for 50 years, opposed the plans in an emotional speech. He said : “The Rag was where I first legitimately drank beer and I was regular visitor until it sadly closed.
“The decision before planners is straightforward. “If you believe the Rag is important to community life and want to see it back in that role, your policies support you.
“Indeed in 2022 a change of use application was refused as the application failed to demonstrate the pub is no longer viable.
“Without the Rag, Nangreaves will become an isolated collection of houses without its beating heart. “Please do not be sidetracked by any suggestion that the pub no longer exists because the building is empty.
The Lord Raglan pub in Nangreaves
A house empty for few years is still a house. “The Rag is still a pub but it won’t be if this application is approved. “It’s gone forever.
“Please help locals to bring back the Rag.” 28 objections to the plans from the surrounding community were received by the council.
The pub was previously listed as an asset of community value which triggered a six month moratorium period where the previous owner could not sell the site unless to a local community group.
The moratorium ended in 2019 and while the Raglan Community Hub submitted a bid for the application site, it was not an acceptable bid to the former owner.
The building was subsequently sold to the applicant in 2020 and following the sale, the council was required to remove the site from their assets of community value register.
Pamela Chesterton, spoke on behalf of the developer. She said: “The pub is not classed as an asset of community value.
“The owner is under no obligation to accept a community bid or sell at a lower price
“The moratorium was intended to give the community the chance to compete. “Objections centred around the loss of this pub as the last community hub fail to recognise the severe underuse leading to the retirement of the landlord and and suitable alternatives, for example the Hark to Dandler pub which is three miles away.
“The public house is redundant having been underused and has now stood vacant for almost nine years. “The applicant has proven track record of bringing back into use vacant listed buildings.”
Ward councillor John Southworth spoke against the plans. “The Lord Raglan provides a leisure amenity which is also used as a community meeting place, he said.
“All buildings in the village apart from the Lord Raglan are in residential use. “Now the only non-residential building in the village has not been accessible to the community since 2018.
“The sustainability of Nangreaves as a community depends on the future of this building. “I have full confidence that the community having the strength and resolve to make ‘a pub as a hub’ happen.
“The building is still vital to the wellbeing of the community. “It’s time to put and end to this saga, stop the rot and allow the building to return to its unique, crucial role in securing the future of the Nangreaves community”
The pub can now be converted into five flats
Committee member Gareth Staples-Jones opposed the application.
“I’m getting tired of developers coming here and assuming they’re going to win,” he said.
“I think we need to think a little but differently because once this building is gone it’s gone forever.
“We’ve seen two very different stories her tonight.
“We’ve seen Jim give his emotional, personal, keenly experienced story and then we’ve seen the lady very professionally give her side of things for the business she represents.
“I’d ask members to really think about the decision.”
Coun Martin Hayes disagreed, he said: “I think this is going to be a good way of bringing back into use a building that’s stood empty for eight years. “It will also be a way of ensuring that it’s restored.”
By the narrowest of margins the planning committee voted to approve by five votes to four.