Another Plan Submitted for Grove Park Pub
Permission sought for increased number of flats at Station House site
Yet anorther proposal for the pub. Picture: The Old Station House
Another application has been submitted for a change of use at the Station House pub that would see part of the ground floor converted from a pub to residential use.
Permission has already been granted for a similar scheme at the end of last year but the latest application (P/2022/0073) wants to increase the number of flats at the site at 2 Grove Park Road. It has been made by Birmingham based company Associate Properties Ltd.
Permission is being sought for a part change of use of ground floor public house to residential together with extension at first and second floors and new two storey element with six flats. The plans appear to show no further decrease in the size of the pub area compared with the previously approved application.
The earlier plan was for the erection of a second-floor side/roof extension to the building, alterations to part of the ground floor (including a lowering of ground levels) to subdivide the existing single storey addition into two storeys, formation of a basement with a small rear access hatch, and the provision of communal amenity space and split-level outdoor space. This incorporated four flats.
This is the third recent application made for the site. A plan submitted in July 2019 which included five two-bedroom flats was refused in December of that year.
The second plan, which obtained approval, envisaged 42% reduction in the floor area of the pub and it was understood that, after completion, there would be no staff living accommodation on the premises. Concern has been expressed that a smaller pub without live-in staff would ultimately prove to be non-viable.
In rejecting the first application Hounslow planning officers said, “The proposed development fails to justify the loss of part of the community use, and without its re-provision at an equivalent capacity, there would be an in-principle objection to the loss of part of the community use.”
In response the applicant commissioned a viability statement by consultants Davis Coffer Lyons which concluded that a smaller pub would be viable.
The report estimated that the existing pub which forms part of Punch Taverns leased estate and has been operated by a private independent limited company for over ten years had a turnover range of around £650,000 to £700,000 over recent years. By accepting the second application the council effectively conceded that the pub could be reduced in size.
Previously Associate Properties have stated that, once the work was complete, they would let the pub on a new free of tie lease allowing it to reopen.
The Old Station House is one of the original buildings in the area, established as the Grove Park Hotel in 1867, serving for visitors to the Thames via the new overground railway.
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March 20, 2022
