A CLOSED Herefordshire pub is still being marketed as an AirBnB and is up for sale as a holiday let despite having been denied a change of use, with an investigation underway.

The Lamb Inn in Stoke Prior, near Leominster, ceased trading in 2018. It has since been converted into a holiday let, despite a change-of-use planning application submitted in 2018 to turn the pub into a four-bedroom house being refused.

An appeal against the planning decision was also refused by a planning inspector, but despite this, the pub has since been advertised on holiday lettings websites including AirBnB, where it is still available to book.

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The AirBnB description for the building says that it "was once a pub - full of character and a cosy atmosphere".

The pub is also being advertised for sale by agents Christie & Co, with an asking price of £630,000, and a forecast income as a holiday let of £80,000 per annum.

Christie & Co describe the building as a "former public house", which the current owners have "repositioned as a highly attractive holiday let", although they do make reference to the fact that it has not been granted a change of use, telling prospective purchasers that "the owners are processing a change of use application".

What has Herefordshire Council said?

Herefordshire Council told the Hereford Times in June last year that an investigation was underway into an alleged breach.

"We believe a retrospective application is currently being considered. If an application is received it will be publicised in the usual way and there will be an opportunity for representations to be made," a spokesperson said at the time.

But no planning application appears to have yet been published on Herefordshire Council's planning portal. 

And a Herefordshire Council spokesperson has confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.

The spokesperson told the Hereford Times this week (March 14) that: “Discussions are taking place with the agent and owners. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

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What have the owners said?

Pub owner Terry Windmill has previously defended the move, saying that having invested heavily in the building, he is entitled to recoup that.

“I have nothing to hide,” he said told the Hereford Times in June.

“It was unliveable when we bought it. We have done a lot of work, it took us nine years to get the bar open again. We then tried for four years to make it work. I have run seven pubs, of which this has been the worst.”