Plans submitted by Mr A Burns to North Yorkshire Council asks to convert the Horse and Farrier on Main Street in High Bentham, Craven district, into a single three-bedroom home, demolish the existing garage, erect a new garage and create a new garden.

According to planning documents, the owner has been trying to sell the building as a pub since 2018 without success.

Advice given to the council by consultants at Heritage Hinchcliffe said the loss of a pub “will cause some harm to the social and economic life” of Bentham which is “regrettable.”

Following a fire in the 1980s, a squash court was built in a barn attached to the pub and this would also be converted into a single home.

It’s estimated around 7,000 pubs have closed across the UK in the last 10 years with changing alcohol trends and high running costs blamed.

The Horse and Farrier’s closure has left Bentham with a handful of remaining pubs including the nearby Black Bull.

Documents say the current Horse and Farrier building dates to the early 18th century although several alterations have been made since then.

A sign above the door suggests an inn could have stood on the site since 1661.

Heritage Hinchcliffe added: “I consider that the principle of the conversion is acceptable, as the proposed new use should ensure that the building is put into a sustainable new use which will ensure that it is maintained into the future and remains as a heritage asset in the village, albeit not as a pub.”

North Yorkshire Council will decide on the application at a later date. The public can view the plans and make comments on the council’s online planning portal by using the reference: ZA24/25848/LBC

The Horse and Farrier, High Bentham: Owner of 18th-century, Grade II-listed Yorkshire pub applies to convert it into house