A former courthouse, attached to a pub located near Penrith is to be converted into a dwelling.

In an application submitted to Eden District Council, the applicant Dawn Brennand proposed the conversion of the former courthouse, which is now dining room area of the Lowther Castle Inn at Hackthorpe into a two bedroom home.

In a Decision Notice, Eden District Council confirmed that the revamp has been approved and can be completed at any point in the next three years.

The former courthouse, is adjoined to the pub itself and is Grade 2 listed. The site is adjacent to the A6 which runs North-South through the village of Hackthorpe about four miles south of Penrith.

The dining room facility for the Lowther Castle Inn accommodates some 70 covers.

In planning documents, the applicant confirmed that the move to convert the space, is a direct response to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The applicant stated: "The proposals seek to downscale the size of the business by significantly reducing the amount of covers possible, as such the dining room becomes surplus to requirements. The separation of the former courthouse can be easily achieved as it was a separate building. The two openings linking the pub to the proposed dwelling will be sealed up as indicated on the plans.

"Given the current climate due to the uncertainty with the COVID-19 epidemic, the Landlords would like to scale back the size of the business to make it more manageable. The proposal is to return the Lowther Castle Inn back to its original size.

The application proposes the conversion of the former courthouse into a 2 bedroom dwelling.

The applicant does also confirm that the proposed refit of the building will be conducted in a manner that will maintain the heritage of the site.

"The proposals have been carefully considered as to retain the existing character of the building and involve minimal interface with the existing building structure.

"The proposed conversion can be achieved with minimal interventions and no new openings. A small porch area is to be introduced within the lower part of the building.

"This will be constructed in a lightweight manner using glass in order to retain the open plan feel of the main courtroom area. Externally there will be no changes to the appearance and as such no impact of the scheduled heritage assets."

View more: eden.gov.uk, use ref: 21/0219