Plans to convert a building which has previously been used as a chapel and a nursery into a community pub have been refused.

The Old Methodist Chapel in Whalley Road, Langho, has been vacant for more than a year having been converted into a nursery in 2012.

It has been on the market since the nursery closed down but no alternative uses have come forward.

The two-storey building includes a garden, a second outdoor space, and an enclosed yard.

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Plans were submitted to Ribble Valley Borough Council last month proposing to convert the building into an independently-run pub targeted towards Langho residents.

However, the council has refused the application, citing noise levels and a lack of parking.

A decision notice said: “The application site is in close proximity to a number of residential dwellings and the proposed use would result in an unacceptable level of noise spill from the site and highway immediately adjacent to the site during the evenings and weekends, leading to potential noise nuisances to the detriment of the residential amenity.

“The application site has no on-site parking provision, and the proposed would result in an increase of vehicle movements from associated staff, customers, and deliveries to the premises, to the detriment of residential amenity and highway safety.

“The proposed use would result in an adverse impact on community facilities without sufficient justification in that the application fails to identify defined and demonstrable benefits that would outweigh that harm.”

The application to the council said the development would be an “appropriate and positive” addition to Langho, particularly as it does not have any community gathering spaces “with the opportunity for people to socialise with one another.”

The planning statement said: “As the pub is intended to be run independently by local people, it is the hope that residents will embrace the new development as a chance to engage more with their neighbours over a social drink and have a community hub in the heart of the village that is accessible to everyone living locally.

“The development will naturally lead to long-term job creation, stimulating the local economy, whilst also investing in and regenerating the interior of the Old Methodist Chapel.

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"Beyond economic justifications, the development will create a community hub, providing great social benefits hitherto absent in Langho.”

The council published five third-party responses from neighbours, all of whom opposed the development citing concerns about noise and parking.

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

To read the plans in full, visit the council’s planning website.