THE owner of a north Cumbrian pub who was served with an enforcement notice to reinstate it has had his appeal dismissed.

The Planning Inspectorate dismissed an appeal brought by the owner of the former Centurion Inn, Austen Davies, against the notice served by Carlisle City Council in January.

Mr Davies had requested the compliance period of six months be extended to one year, to allow time for a planning application to be submitted and either time for a subsequent appeal, if the application were unsuccessful,or time for the works to be carried out if it was.

The Planning Inspectorate concluded the period of notice was upheld without variation.

The inspector Ken McEntee's report stated: "In theory, such a situation could go on indefinitely, with further revised applications and subsequent appeals being submitted while enforcement action is put on hold."

Carlisle City Council understands the building has been used, without planning consent, as a dwelling for about three years.

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

The enforcement notice requirements included reinstatement of the bar area to create a fully functional and operational public house and to stop using areas of the building, including part of the ground floor, for residential use.

The inspector, who reached his decision in June, said: "I am aware that the breach of planning control has persisted for at least two years now and I am also mindful that some four months have elapsed with enforcement action effectively suspended.

"I consider that the stated harm to the surrounding area caused by the unauthorised development should not be allowed to continue."

In response to Mr Davies complaints about the council's conduct in responding to enquiries or offering pre-application advice, Mr McEntee said it was not something he could consider in determination of the appeal and this should be addressed through the authority's established complaints procedure.

Meanwhile permission was refused in April to convert the pub into a cafe or restaurant.

Planners said the proposal for a change of use of the former Centurion Inn at Walton, near Brampton, would have resulted in the loss of the only public house in the village.

An appeal against refusal of planning permission was also lodged but is still pending.

A Carlisle City Council spokesman said: “The enforcement notice has been upheld by the planning inspectorate. The compliance period deadline is late December this year. An ongoing appeal is also in place against the decision to refuse an application to change the use of the building to a restaurant/café. This is with the planning inspectorate who will make the overall decision on the application.”

Mr Davies declined to comment on the either appeal or the Planning Inspectorate decision when contacted by The Cumberland News this week.

Mr Davies opened The Centurion Inn in 2001. In 2013 an application for retrospective planning permission for change of use to a dwelling was refused.

The following year an application for a certificate of lawfulness for proposed use to a cafe/restaurant with ancillary upper floor accommodation was also refused.