AN APPLICATION for the conversion of a long-closed pub near Saltash which was featured in a Dawn French drama series has been refused by Cornwall Council.

The Crooked Spaniard’s Inn, also known as the Spaniard’s Inn, is located in Cargreen, near Saltash.

With its origins believed to have stretched back to the 16th-century, in more recent times it found itself featured in ‘The trouble with Maggie Cole’, a 2020 series featuring the Cornish domiciled comedian.

It has not been used as a public house since 2008, with the upper floor ‘managers accommodation’ understood to have been used as a holiday let in recent years. In the plans, the floor space previously the site of the public house would have become a residential unit while the holiday let would have remained above.

However, the latest proposals to change the use of the building were refused by Cornwall Council on the grounds that insufficient evidence was submitted to prove it had no future as a public house, in addition to coastal flooding risks.

The applicant told Cornwall Council: “The proposals include the change of use and conversion of the former public house at ground floor to a single dwelling. This comprises a large two-bedroom apartment.

“The existing three bed managers accommodation at first floor level will remain in the same layout but will be separate from the ground floor and will thus remain in a C3 Use as a self-contained apartment.

Refusing the application, the council’s planning department stated: “Despite a significant time of closure, in the absence of a robust marketing campaign and either a viability report or alternative adequate facilities or services in similarly accessible locations, the change of use of

“The Spaniards Inn to a residential use would result in the loss of a valuable community facility within a well populated rural village location, which could, if re-opened, contribute to the social and economic wellbeing of the local community.

“Insufficient evidence has been provided to demonstrate that there is no need or demand for the facility or that it could not be economically viable such that a commercial future should be abandoned, while there are further insufficient alternative facilities available in the vicinity.

“The proposed change of use would introduce a more vulnerable residential use in an area at known risk of coastal change, where future publicly funded coastal defences are not planned under the current Shoreline Management Plan.

“In the absence of a Coastal Vulnerability Assessment, it has not been demonstrated that the development would be safe for its lifetime or would avoid creating pressure for new or maintained coastal defences. In the absence of this required assessment, the Local Planning Authority and Coastal Protection Authority cannot fully evaluate the impacts or ensure the development would not result in unsustainable coastal risk.”