Planning: Bid to turn former Cleckheaton pub into apartments submitted to Kirklees Council

The application, received by the council on March 10, relates to The Priory on Whitechapel Road, and proposes demolishing the vacant building to create eight apartments.

A summer house would be built within the site as well as a communal garden, while the four ground floor apartments would have access to private gardens.

The apartments, described in documentation submitted alongside the application as “newbuild supported living accommodation” would be in the affordable housing category which the proposal states would provide “secure and sustainable homes” for “adults in need.”

The site is described in the proposal as brownfield and sits next to a housing estate which is currently under construction.

It is not known exactly when the building, previously called the Brown Cow Inn, was built, however it is believed to date back to either the late 18th or early 19th century.

The application’s Built Heritage Statement said a lack of use had left The Priory in a state of disrepair, and the “extensive removal of its original features” had significantly reduced the building’s architectural interest.

It added that the building is not listed or located within a Conservation Area. It is also not recorded on a local heritage list or recorded on the West Yorkshire Heritage Environment Record.

The site sits in proximity to the Whitechapel Church, which is Grade II listed, however a report found there was no “direct historical association” between the two properties, according to the application’s Design and Access Statement.