Pub ordered to remove hot tubs after losing appeal

A pub hotel owner says he is losing customers after being told to remove hot tubs from his national park site.

The Wilson Arms, in Coniston, in the Lake District, was first told to remove its four tubs by the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNP) in July 2022, which the pub’s co-owner subsequently appealed.

But government planners ruled against Matthew Mayver’s appeal and said the development harmed the appearance of the area.

Mr Mayvers called the whole situation a “farce”. The LDNP said it hoped to see legal compliance from the owner.

The Wilson Arms has shepherds huts, "glamping" pods and cottages for guests to stay in, as well as hotel rooms.

The pub owner admitted he was partly to blame for the situation.

“I didn’t realise you needed planning permission for a hot tub,” Mr Mayvers said.

After the LDNP reached out in 2022, Mr Mayvers said he had made a mistake and would send off a planning application for the tubs.

But as the regulatory body had already ruled against the tubs, they could not accept the new application, according to Mr Mayvers.

He then appealed the decision with the government's Planning Inspectorate, who responded on 5 April and backed the LDNP’s verdict.

It said the hot tubs displayed a “level of permanence” and failed to “conserve or enhance the local landscape of this part of the national park”.

“All we’re trying to do is keep a business afloat and keep local people in a job,” said Mr Mayvers.

"We're barely breaking even."

He claimed customers had been calling to cancel their summer trips as they had read about the tubs being removed.

The pub, which is about 50 years old, used to belong to Mr Mayvers’s father, and he hopes to pass it down to his daughters Harriet and Lottie.

“My daughter’s in there now - helping run the business,” he said.

“She’s young, 22, full of ambition, full of ideas.”

He said the next steps were to work with the LDNP to see if they could find some common ground.

“If there isn’t, then you know, the future of the pub could be at stake,” he said.

The LDNP said there had been several unlawful developments at The Wilson Arms which were "unneighbourly and harmful" to the national park.

They said five enforcement notices, a breach of condition notice and a stop notice had been issued against the owner.

"An independent inspector appointed by the Secretary of State has agreed with our assessment of harm and all appeals have been dismissed," a spokesperson said.

"We hope we will now see legal compliance.”

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