A 17th century pub with a five-star hotel has been refused permission to create an external dining area.

The Millstone pub in Mellor is a former coaching inn at the foot of the Ribble Valley providing award-winning beer and an extensive food menu.

The attached Millstone Mellor hotel is rated five stars and has 23 ensuite bedrooms as well as an award-winning restaurant.

The pub says they have had limited availability and wanted to rectify this by building an additional seating area, but this has been refused by council planning bosses.

Lancashire Telegraph: The garden at the rear of the pub is not currently in useThe garden at the rear of the pub is not currently in use (Image: Raw Design)

A design and access statement submitted to Ribble Valley Borough Council said: “The growing desire for external dining has exposed limited existing availability at Millstone Mellor and our proposal looks to remedy that. The garden is currently unused and we propose creating a dining area, to a total of 130 covers.

“New ramped and stepped garden access will be formed.

“The ground will be landscaped, to improve access and circulation, in a mix of turf, sandstone paving, and gravel.

READ MORE: Rimington couple's plans to build family home approved

“There will be a variety of seating options, with bench and loose seating beneath umbrellas, covered booth seating, seating beneath a pergola, and within a new timber pavilion.

“To provide sound attenuation, a new planter and 2m high fence and the new pavilion will be installed. These should ensure the neighbouring area is not impacted by sound transfer.”

Lancashire Telegraph: An example of an outdoor covered dining areaAn example of an outdoor covered dining area (Image: Raw Design)

The highways team at Lancashire County Council, responding to the proposal, said they did not feel the application fully considered the highway impact of the development and required a parking survey and operation statement to fully assess the plans.

Four responses were received by neighbours, all of whom raised concerns about the level of noise and the additional traffic the development would bring.

The borough council said insufficient information had been supplied to demonstrate the proposal would not adversely affect nearby residential properties and that the proposals would create a development detrimental to the character of the area.

Anyone wishing to view the plans can do so via the council’s planning website.

The applicants have six months to appeal the council’s decision.