11 hours ago
Owners of only pub in village plea as planning refusals 'risk closure'
PUBLICANS in an Eden Valley village have issued a plea to planning authorities after three refusals for the retention of a covered seating area 'risks the closure of a community asset'.
The owners of the Strickland Arms, in Great Strickland, Anton and Penny Flaherty, have appealed to the Planning Inspectorate after Westmorland and Furness Council rejected three applications relating to the patio area at the front of the pub.
A canopy was constructed during Covid restrictions, due to the government relaxing planning laws around covered seating areas.
Despite the changes being made permanent, planners have ordered Mr and Mr Flaherty to remove the structure due to the alleged harm it causes to the character of the pub building.
In their appeal against the latest refusal in May 2025 to replace the canopy with a single-storey extension, Mr and Mrs Flaherty provide financial evidence of the rising costs of running the business.
Their statement of case says: "A pub in the Eden Valley is an outsider to the Lake District National Park.
"It is often mistaken that pubs in Cumbria on the outskirts of the Lake District's 'honeypot' can survive on the business generated from there, but in our 19 years of experience this is not the case.
"A pub business on the outskirts has to work harder to attract business."
A supporting letter from Campaign for Pubs director, Greg Mulholland, cites the 'huge importance' of the Strickland Arms to the village as its only pub, stating it is 'very well-run' by Mr and Mrs Flaherty, who work 'extremely hard'.
He emphasized the 'huge importance' of the area to the business.
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It said: "We urge you to work with Anton and Penny, to properly understand why this work is so vital for them and for this hugely important community pub open and trading."
The Flahertys' statement says that the area is often enjoyed by overnight guests to have breakfast, as well as schoolchildren waiting for the bus in inclement weather.
It concludes: "The ground floor elevation with change the appearance and the character of the pub but for the better, it is not detrimental.
"If anything, it is far more inviting to customers and visitors to the village of Great Strickland.
"It is vital to the village that this asset is not lost."
