A HOYLAND pub was allowed to trade for almost eight years despite not having proper planning permission in place, it has emerged.
The oversight at the Oyle in the Wall on Market Street, Hoyland only came to light when new owners made moves to reopen the pub after its closure in September.
The pub has had three different tenants since it opened in 2016 but according to a council report, planning permission for the change of use was never actually granted.
The report adds: “The site has been operating as a public house successfully and without issue for about eight years.
“It has recently come to light following change in the tenancy arrangements that no planning permission had been obtained for the public house use.
“The applicant was of the understanding that a former tenant had obtained the necessary permission but this was not the case.
“The applicant has taken steps to regularise the situation immediately once this became known and there has been no deliberate avoidance of planning controls.”
Retrospective permission is now being sought, with the applicant hoping to receive approval in the coming months to bring the once-thriving pub back to the community.
“The public house use has been operated by three different tenants since 2016. The most recent tenants vacated in September 2023, and it is since then that it came to light that no planning permission is in place for the public house use, despite it being operational for so long.
“The regularising of this anomaly through the approval of this application will allow the thriving public house to become occupied again so that it can resume its role in making a valuable contribution to the local economy and the vitality and viability of Hoyland centre.
“It should also be noted that the site has been in commercial but non-retail use since at least 1974.
“As such, there is absolutely no negative impact on the primary retail function of the town centre as a result of the public house use.
“The public house use contributes positively to the local economy by generating jobs as well as linked trips to other town centre businesses.
“It has been operational for about eight years without any complaints or issues, and this clearly demonstrates that there are no harmful impacts in respect of noise or disturbance.
“Furthermore, the public house provides a valuable community facility and a social space.”
Coun Robin Franklin, cabinet spokesperson for regeneration and culture, said: “It has recently come to light following a change in the tenancy arrangements that no planning permission was in place for this public house.
“The owner had believed a previous tenant had secured this permission some time ago. The owner brought this to our attention voluntarily once the error was discovered and has now applied for retrospective planning permission.
“It appears that no concerns have ever been raised about the use of this building so therefore it has never previously been brought to the attention of our planning enforcement team.
“The application will now go through our usual planning process for a decision.”
A total of ten neighbouring properties have been made aware of the plans with no appeals to date.
Public consultation ends on December 29.
