Plans to build homes on site of derelict Falmouth pub

OPO Developments Ltd was originally refused permission in 2022 to demolish the former Boslowick Inn and build ten homes in its place. An appeal against that decision in 2023 was also lost.

Since the failure of the appeal the pub had become derelict and fallen into a state of disrepair.

The inside of the pub is wrecked (Image: NJ/Facebook)

“Due to the passage of time since the appeal, and evidently ongoing unlawful entry, malicious damage, rough sleeping, dumping and general vandalism of the site and buildings - despite best efforts to secure the premises leaving the pub in a very poor state,” says the application.

Now the developer has come back with a new proposal that includes converting the original pub into four dwellings and building six homes along the Prislow Lane edge .

South of the proposed site looking north (Image: Lilly Lewarne Architects)

These take the form of three pairs of semi-detached houses, presenting a double gable street frontage, with entrances arranged around the party wall axis.

Heating and hot water will be provided by air source heat pumps, and it is proposed that an up to 4 kW solar panel array be provided to power all new-build properties.

Each house includes on-curtilage parking for two vehicles and one EV charging point at the front of the property; parking areas and pathways will be permeably surfaced.

The Boslowick Inn closed in 2021 (Image: Paul Armstrong)

The proposed layout retains the converted pub, broadly in the centre of the site and terraced landscaped areas to the west.

The eastern side of the site will have a terrace of six new two storey dwellings arranged along a north-south axis while the boundary to Prislow Lane will have new mixed hedge planting using native bird and pollinator-friendly species, as will the eastern boundary.

However, the developer says there will have to be some management including removal removal and thinning of trees and shrubs within to make way for a communal garden amenity space.

View from south boundary looking north (Image: Lilly Lewarne Architects)

Along the boundary to Prislow Lane in the eastern half of the site, some trees will be removed – they say where necessary due to the health of the tree and/or, to accommodate the south-eastern extremity of the proposed development, although most trees lying closest to the southern boundary will be retained.

They say in the design statement that while it is intended to keep the outside appearance of the pub, incorporating the two four storey dwellings will mean there will have to be some changes made to the outside.

In conclusion architects Lilly Lewarne Architects says: "We believe that the scheme represents a viable and appropriate means of providing a viable opportunity for residential redevelopment of this site in a sensitive manner, respecting the character and setting of the residential and historic context and re-purposing and safeguarding the future of the principal building and NDHA."