Star plans a light year off the mark

The Star Inn, Scouthead: plans rejected by parish council

Plans to develop a former Saddleworth pub have been rejected by parish councillors - because it would be turned into a “nondescript urban terrace.”

The Star Inn, Scouthead, was sold earlier this year by a group of local people who bought the eight-bedroomed property six years ago but shelved plans to develop the site.

The inn’s new owner, Jonathan Barlow from Uppermill, has had his application to erect three dormers and a first-floor side and rear extension to the building refused by Saddleworth parish council’s planning committee.

The committee says the building makes a major contribution to the conservation area: “The proposed development would totally destroy the character of the building, being completely insensitive to the building’s architectural history. All traces of the original appearance would be lost. This is one of the most unsympathetic and insensitive conversion projects the committee has encountered.”

The committee says it doesn’t object to the principle of creating three dwellings. It has asked the applicant to talk to the local conservation officer.