Homes for people with Autism plans at Travellers Friend pub near Thatcham approved

Plans to convert The Travellers Friend in Crookham into homes for people with autism and other learning disabilities have been approved.

Transforming Developments Ltd had applied to change the use of the Crookham Common Road pub to accommodate 18 people.

West Berkshire Council's adult social care department had supported the application, saying that it would make a significant contribution owing to a shortage of suitable accommodation in the area.

It added that the development would “help meet a strategic and significant need for adult care facilities in West Berkshire, and in being a well-designed scheme that should provide residents with a high-quality environment beneficial to their mental and physical wellbeing”.

A central courtyard will provide a safe and secure environment for residents and sensory and allotment spaces are also included in the plans.

The site will be run and managed by Pathway for Care, a group of health and social care professionals.

A report said that the pub was no longer viable and was unsustainable without significant investment, which was unlikely to come from a prospective purchaser.

Approving the scheme, the council said that the change of use would make better use of the area and meet the housing needs of a specialist sector of the community.

It said that the loss of the pub would not "comprise an unacceptable decline in the standard of community services for locals and visitors".

The village shop on the site will be retained and provide an opportunity for people living in the new accommodation to work in it.

The council said this would "go some way to maintaining the standard of community services in this area".

Thirty-four car parking spaces are proposed for the shop and housing, which includes four disabled parking spaces and four electric vehicle charging points.

Although the council considered the site to be "not wholly sustainable" the amount of traffic generated from its future use was likely to be lower than that from the pub.

A viability assessment report for the Travellers Friend said that the pub was marketed between August 2017 and February 2018, which resulted in three viewings and no offers – following the property details being sent to 800 recipients.

The pub was again marketed in 2019, with the details sent to 1,300 prospective applicants, resulting in 19 interested parties, four viewings and no offers.

Approving the plans, the council said: "The loss of the public house is an adverse effect of the proposal; however it has been agreed by both the applicant and the council's consultants that it is unviable.

"It has been advertised adequately and no significant interest has been shown. The council's consultant has identified areas to which make the public house an undesirable investment."