THE CHURCHILL Arms at Sturminster Marshall is to be converted into a home – despite more than thirty objections.

It had been claimed that the pub, which dates back to 1860, could still be viable and continue to provide an important community facility for local people, catering for existing residents and those likely to come to be village.

The parish council says it has been in contact with a local publican who would like to purchase the site and believes it could be viable. It claims the applicant has not proved that the pub is incapable of  continuing to run as a going concern.

Support for the conversion to a single four-bed house included comments that the site has become an eyesore and that previous tenants had been unable to make it a profitable business and that the majority of sporting teams which used it had left well before it closed.

Previous applications for the site have included the demolition of the pub and the building of up to 8 homes on the site, which was refused in November 2020 on the grounds that it would lead to the loss of a ‘non-designated heritage asset’.

A similar previous application went to appeal where it was dismissed, the inspector agreeing that the Churchill Arms had a degree of heritage interest because of its association with the Somerset and Dorset Railway and although the Bailey Gate station had long since disappeared the pub was one of the last reminders of the railway in the area.

The inspector accepted that the pub was not viable and that there were other meeting venues in the area including two other pubs and a memorial hall.

Dorset Council has agreed the change of use to a home with conditions about landscaping and design details. An officer report concluded that there were no justifiable grounds for not approving the application.