Council reverses ACV decision for pub Co-op wants to demolish

The ACV status was awarded to the Cherry Tree, located on the outskirts of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, after Co-op submitted a plan to knock it down. Site owners Ei had objected to two previous ACV applications and the site was refused protected status earlier this year. Ei said that the pub is neither busy nor popular.

A spokesperson for the Ei pubco said that trade had “fallen to such an extent that we did not believe it [the pub] could continue to trade successfully as a licensed premises”.

Decision expected

An application to demolish the pub and build a Co-op supermarket has been with Sheffield Council since July 2016, with a final decision from the council expected in the next few months.

Sheffield Council told The Morning Advertiser​ that the site’s new ACV status is a “material consideration to be taken into account with all other relevant considerations at the planning application”.

Social wellbeing

A previous application to list the pub as an ACV in January was rejected because the council felt the site did not sufficiently further the social wellbeing of the community.

However, in light of further evidence, the council has now reversed its decision and listed the pub as an ACV, with the council concluding that the “property’s actual and current use furthers the social wellbeing and interests of the local community”.