Cafe plan for closed village pub

A closed pub in a village near York could be turned into a cafe and flat if plans are approved.

The Murton Arms, in Moor Lane, Murton, first closed in January 2017 and briefly reopened in August of that year before closing again six months later after failing to attract enough customers to be viable.

Directions Planning Consultancy stated on behalf of applicants Mr and Mrs Armitage that the conversion plans would provide a viable use for the building and a much-needed community facility.

They added there had been no interest in taking the pub on and reopening it since it was placed on the market in December 2024.

The pub, previously called The Bay Horse, is thought to have traded in the village under various names since 1805 in a building constructed in the late 1700s.

A previous owner of the building had applied to turn its ground floor into an apartment but was unsuccessful, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A planning inspector ruled it would result in the loss of a community facility following an appeal.

The latest application lodged with the City of York Council follows the marketing of the pub by McBeath Property Consultancy.

They stated the only interest shown in the building was from people looking to turn it into either a cafe or restaurant.

Plans stated the conversion would allow the building to go on serving the community in a similar way to how the pub had done.

They added a viable use needed to be found for the building to stop it from deteriorating further.

Parking would be provided using the existing 31 spaces and two disabled bays.

"There are very few facilities within Murton to serve the community, there is no shop, library, post office, village hall or youth group," the application states.

"A cafe in this location would share the main characteristics of a local pub, offering a place in which to socialise.

"It would undoubtedly provide an equivalent community facility to be used predominantly by the local Murton community to meet their day-to-day needs."

No date has been fixed for the council to consider the application.

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