Members of a community group have blamed the planning system for the loss of their village pub.
The Half Moon Pub Group Ltd, which was formed by local volunteers to save the Half Moon Inn, in Sharow, near Ripon, has warned others to “act early” to save their community assets.
The group has issued a statement after the owners of the premises won a legal battle with North Yorkshire Council.
Mark Fitton and Benjamin Fitton successfully overturned an enforcement notice requiring them to restore the building to use as a pub.
Speaking after the decision by the Planning Inspectorate to quash the notice, the campaign group said that the “Half Moon Inn could today be a thriving — if modest — village pub, carrying forward a 200-year tradition into a new era”.
But only if the owners had “genuinely marketed a viable pub lease and restored the fabric, fixtures and fittings” as residents believed the owners had after purchasing the property.
The spokesperson for the group, which had hoped the pub could be bought and run by the local community, said: “Instead, weak planning legislation, painfully slow processes and local policy gaps enabled a situation where four years of unlawful residential use ultimately became lawful; a rule that has now been extended to ten years, but too late for us.”
They added: “The planning system has effectively allowed our village to lose its only public house.
“Residential occupation that began unlawfully has been legitimised by the unnecessary passage of time.
“When the property is eventually sold as a residence rather than a commercial pub, its value will inevitably reflect that change, while our community receives nothing for what it has lost for good.”
The council had issued the enforcement notice in 2024, alleging an unauthorised change of use from a public house to a house.
It required the owners to cease residential use and reinstate the primary use as a pub, with three months to comply.
However, Inspector Chris Baxter concluded that the residential use of the entire building had continued for at least four years before the notice was issued, meaning it was immune from enforcement action.
Under planning law, councils cannot take enforcement action against a change of use to a single dwellinghouse if it has been continuous for four years prior to the notice being served.
The group said it was “deeply frustrated” at the slow pace of enforcement in the early stages of this case.
“Volunteers in the village and this group dedicated hundreds of hours in an effort to save the pub while formal processes dragged on. That delay has proved decisive,” the spokesperson added.
The group said the loss reflected a broader vulnerability facing rural communities across the country.
“When valued community assets can be lost in this way, paving the way to personal profit, something fundamental is weakened. Our shared spaces, our social fabric, and our sense of belonging are now robbed from us.
“We deeply regret that the community did not move to purchase the Half Moon Inn when it had the chance. A village pub offers far more than food and drink.
“As the Campaign for Real Ale consistently points out, many rural pubs remain commercially viable, particularly when they are the only one in the community.
“The loss of the Half Moon Inn has left a lasting mark on our village. We urge other rural communities: act early, organise quickly, and protect your pubs, schools and churches before they are gone.”
In response, Mark Fitton said the Half Moon was in very poor condition when he bought it in 2017, with the last two owners facing bankruptcy.
He added that three agents unsuccessfully marketed the Half Moon from 2018 to 2022, with the community group making no offer and only managing to raise £742.
He added: “I am satisfied with the Inspector’s decision that use of the Half Moon as a dwelling is lawful.
“The appeal decision secures the long-term future of an important historical building.”
