Villagers call for 170-year-old pub to be turned into 'desperately needed' housing

Plans to turn a 170-year-old riverside pub into housing, which locals say is desperately needed, are being recommended for refusal due to flood risk - four years after new £5.2m defences were completed.

.Developers want to turn the Crown Inn in Paull into three affordable homes with the space downstairs kept for commercial, business and community uses.

They also want to build a terrace of six three-storey homes on the site.

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The parish council is urging councillors to approve the plans “as there is a desperate need for more housing for families in the village which would in turn support the school”.

Councillors are to decide plans to convert the Crown Inn into housing Picture: GoogleCouncillors are to decide plans to convert the Crown Inn into housing Picture: Google
Councillors are to decide plans to convert the Crown Inn into housing Picture: Google

They say the East Riding village benefits from “amazing new sea defences, and the older parishioners can confirm the Crown has never flooded in their lifetime”.

In 2018 the council marked the end of work to the defences, consisting of a wall, raised embankment and 2,700 tonnes of rock armour, which cut the risk of flooding to 1,500 homes in the village. It came five years after a tidal surge caused flooding along the Humber, including in Paull.

The Humber Local Enterprise Partnership’s then chairman Lord Haskins said at the time: “This is exactly the kind of innovative project we need to reduce the risk of flooding to homes and businesses along the Humber and support future sustainable growth.”

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However the Environment Agency objected to the plans for the pub because they fail the “sequential” test which directs development to areas of lowest flood risk wherever possible. They are also concerned about the possibility of sudden fast-flowing and deep water flooding from the river.

The site in Paull, near HullThe site in Paull, near Hull
The site in Paull, near Hull

One supporter wrote to the council pointing out that all the ground-floor space will be non-residential minimising flood risk to people. He added: “It is bizarre that no allowance is made for the river wall, built to prevent flooding. It would be a travesty if this development is rejected after two semi-detached houses next to the village school have been approved - where flooding risk is identical if not higher.”

However planners recommend refusal at a meeting on Monday. They also say the terrace will be out of keeping with the village’s conservation area and its Grade II-listed Old Lighthouse.

The Crown, which stands across the road from the Humber Tavern, with the Royal Oak further down the road, was originally due to be demolished. But the current scheme retains the building, with “modest” additions replacing more modern extensions. Hull and East Yorkshire Campaign for Real Ale previously objected to the loss of the pub, which opened in 1856.

In planning documents, agents say the Crown was closed and unlikely to reopen.

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