The Railway Inn in Fourstones, near Hexham, is set to become a house after Northumberland County Council planners approved a scheme also proposing a bungalow on the former pub car park.
The pub has been closed since 2015. The latest planning application was approved by council officers under delegated powers, rather than by a committee of councillors, after a series of earlier attempts to convert the site for housing were rejected.
Years of failed plans and community concern
Warden Parish Council, which represents Fourstones, highlighted two previous applications seeking the pub’s permanent closure and redevelopment for homes. Both were refused by the council, while a subsequent appeal was rejected by the Planning Inspectorate.
In its objection, the parish council said several potential buyers had made offers for the building but claimed that “Numerous offers to buy the pub at a reasonable price have been rejected.” It argued that a new owner might have introduced a different business model and retained the Railway Inn as a community facility for the village and surrounding area.
The parish council also said the building had deteriorated since 2020 and had become a “dilapidated eyesore” affecting residents and visitors. It described the continuing situation as “intolerable for local residents”, while acknowledging that residential use might ultimately be the only way to bring the site back into use.
Parish councillor Steve Heminsley said the closure had been a difficult loss for the village. “It is sad for the village. It has been a decade of the doors being firmly closed,” he said.
He added that villagers had become resigned to the pub’s likely fate over the previous three or four years, saying planners had supported the community because they accepted the business was unlikely to return after such a long closure.
Why the housing scheme was approved
The Railway Inn was listed as an asset of community value and had been marketed for sale over several years. Planning documents said it was advertised for as little as £100,000 in October 2024, described as the lowest asking price for a public house in Northumberland “by a significant margin”. Six offers were made after that date, but none resulted in a completed sale.
Documents also recorded discussions between the applicant and Fourstones Community Ventures dating back to 2015. However, the community group did not make an offer to buy the building or accept an offer of a 15-year rent-free period to operate the pub.
The planning report said evidence from the licensed-pub industry showed nationally that wet-led pubs were struggling. It also concluded that the Railway Inn’s size, limited ability to generate different income streams and the investment needed to bring it up to trading standard made its future as a pub unviable.
Although officers recognised an “evident desire” among villagers to see the pub reopen, the report said the property had been closed for about 10 years and there was no realistic offer to retain it as a pub or community asset. Bringing the empty, deteriorating building back into use as housing was therefore considered a benefit supporting approval.