Pub told it can keep outdoor seating on public footpath, but must remove trellis

The Robin Hood with the outdoor area to the side of the building.

A pub has been told it can keep its outdoor seating, after telling the council it was needed to have a chance of survival.

The Robin Hood pub on Pontefract’s Wakefield Council applied to Wakefield Council’s planning department to keep the seating area next to the pub, but which is classed as public footpath.

A letter written on behalf of the applicant read: “We are in difficult times, the applicant has been closed with no income for over three months, and so the business is under severe threat.

“We will be prepared to go appeal if unsuccessful [with the application].”

Planning officers approved the seating area, but rejected the part of the application to keep a ‘scaffolding’ trellis around the seated area.

The applicant said that hops and wisteria have been planted and almost cover the trellis.

But the planners said it would not enhance the area and turned the idea down.