A BUSINESSMAN who lived in a village pub without permission for about three years has been warned he must reopen it as a public house.

Carlisle City Council has issued an enforcement notice to the owner of The Centurion Inn at Walton, near Brampton.

It gives him six months notice to act before legal action would be taken.

The authority understands that the building has been used without planning permission as a dwelling for about three years, but thinks it should be kept as a community resource.

Action has now been taken to resolve the situation and get the building put back into shape to be used as a public house.

A spokeswoman for Carlisle City Council said: “Enforcement notice was issued because the premises is occupied as a dwelling without planning permission contrary to relevant policies in the Local Plan.

“The occupier would need to reopen the premises as a public house and occupy the self-contained residential accommodation on the first floor in association with the running of the pub.”

The Centurion has not been used as a pub for more than four years when the premise licence was cancelled, but the current occupier hasn’t got permission to use it domestically.

In planning terms, the Centurion is still classed as a pub and no permission has been granted to use it as anything else.

The enforcement notice has a six-month compliance period which took effect from February 16. If an appeal is made and then dismissed, the compliance period will be six months from the date of the appeal decision.

Owner Austen Davies was contacted but declined to comment on the enforcement notice or to say if he plans to appeal it.

In August 2013, Mr Davies applied for retrospective planning permission for a change of use from a public house to a dwelling, with alterations and extensions to form a ground floor gazebo and first floor balcony but was refused.

About 70 people objected to the plans, with many saying they did not want to lose one of their last remaining community buildings. At the time there was a campaign to open the pub as a community venture.

One objector said: “For the current owner to purchase a pub like the Centurion in a village like Walton and then run it down is unforgivable and in no way should a change of use to residential be allowed.”

Another said the loss of the pub would “destroy village life”.