A pub landlady fears she will have to close after being forced to tear down outdoor shelters after six years.
Wendy McLaren said takings at the Byron House in Nether Edge could drop by half because the structures were used by customers to smoke in and watch sports, and by parties and funerals.
She said two pergolas were erected by the previous landlord during Covid.
Wendy, who took over in September last year, said: “I think it’s going to have a major impact and could close us down.
“I don’t get it. Walk down Abbeydale Road and there are all sorts of structures on the pavement. This was actually on my property.
“I think there’s been a vendetta against this business and I reckon anything I apply for to replace it would be turned down.”
Sheffield City Council said the pergolas had been erected without planning permission and last summer ordered them to be removed due to their ‘excessive size, scale and materials and impact on Nether Edge Conservation Area’.
Voyager Pub Group, a subsidiary of Stonegate Pub Company, appealed to the Planning Inspectorate stating they provided essential cover for customers.
It added that they were not intrusive but blended into the background of the host building, on Nether Edge Road.
But inspector Grahame Kean dismissed the appeal.
He said the main problem was that it “fails by a long way” to respect the townscape character of the area and its “pleasant, affluent and well-ordered appearance”.
He wrote: “Unfortunately, the unauthorised development has considerably undermined much of the original character of the property in this prominent location, giving the whole property a cluttered and enclosed appearance.
“Both pergola structures are of an excessive scale, protruding into the street scene and appearing highly incongruous including by the use of timber materials and angular design that juts out to the edge of the pavement.
“In protruding well forward of the established building line of the streets, the development diminishes much of the open character of the plot and detracts from the character and appearance of the host property, the surrounding area and the conservation area as a whole.
“I have considered the case for the appellant but find that the harm caused is not outweighed by any public benefit emanating from the development.”
1. Byron House
Licensee Wendy McLaren at the Byron House at Nether Edge, part way through the removal of outdoor shelters with televisions. | IM Photo: Dean
