CHANGES to the grade two listed Old Ship Aground public house in Minehead have been allowed despite strong opposition by town councillors.

Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) gave permission for a range of alterations to the harbourside pub.

They included removal of an external staircase, building a flat roof single-storey extension to form a cellar and house a ladies’ toilet, installing two windows, one of which was replacing a door, a door to be fitted in place of a window, and a replacement fence.

Planning agent Jason Richards, of 2C Design Consultants, said the pub was bought by Hall and Woodhouse during the summer of 2021 and the owners wanted to remodel the trade areas, kitchen extension, and rear exit/lobby to optimise space and improve operational facilities.

Mr Richards said the first and second floors would have some room space reconfigurations to revamp existing letting rooms and utilise unused space into new letting rooms which would increase the guest room offering from 12 to 17 rooms.

He said the Old Ship Aground, like all public houses, was seeking to make itself more robust in a difficult financial climate.

“The British pub is an institution under threat,” said Mr Richards. “During the past decade, a series of legislative, social, and economic trends have conspired to squeeze industry revenue and margins, forcing many pubs out of business.”

SWT planning officer Kieran Reeves said despite the pub being in a conservation area, the principle of an extension was acceptable while some of the harm caused by the changes were outweighed by the public benefit gained from them.

Mr Reeves said the Old Ship Aground was a substantial detached stone and rendered building which dated from about the 1880s. The L-shape pub together with the adjoining St Peter’s Church, which in turn was adjoined by the Echo Beach Café, made a valuable contribution to the historic and architectural interest and of the surrounding conservation area.

Mr Reeves said the scheme design had been amended to take into account concerns expressed by town councillors and Minehead Conservation Society.

Town councillors objected on grounds that the proposed structure and design was not in keeping with the surrounding area and the materials to be used were of poor quality for a listed building within a conservation area.

The conservation society supported the improved cellar facilities but had concerns about the design of the works and preferred a stone wall to be built rather than a fence.

However, SWT refused a retrospective application for new roof slates which had been fitted to the Old Ship Aground because they were ‘incongruous to the listed building and its setting’.

The slates were installed before the purchase by Hall and Woodhouse.