New pub, shop and homes planned for fire-ravaged Knaresborough Cricketers

‘It will provide a vibrant, functional and attractive addition to Knaresborough’s community’

A new pub could return to the site of Knaresborough’s fire-ravaged Cricketers in Calcutt, alongside seven new homes and a convenience store.

The Thistle Hill pub was badly damaged by a major fire in April last year and has stood empty since.

Plans have been submitted to demolish the damaged building and replace it with apartments and a shop, plus a new pub overlooking the cricket ground.

The proposals have been drawn up by Harrogate-based Richard Eves Architects on behalf of Ashes Pub Company.

The Cricketers was formerly known as the Union before it was refurbished and reopened under its current name in 2019.

It became known as a sports pub, with live TV as well as pool and darts matches.

Firefighters from Knaresborough, Harrogate, Acomb, Tadcaster, Ripon and Wetherby tackled the blaze after being called to the pub at around 4am on April 1.

Crews battled the fire into daylight, with huge plumes of smoke rising above the building.

The damaged property was later put on the market with an asking price of £100,000 before being acquired by Ashes Pub Company.

The new plans would see all the existing buildings demolished and replaced with a mixed-use building containing a 208sqm (2,239 sq ft) convenience store and seven self-contained apartments.

The homes would comprise two one-bedroom, four two-bedroom and one three-bedroom apartment.

A separate new pub would be built towards the rear of the site, alongside a private beer garden looking towards the cricket pitch.

The plans form one of two applications submitted for the site and adjoining land. A separate application covers two houses on land to the south.

The Planning Statement says the applications were split “for commercial reasons”, with the two schemes submitted together to reflect the applicant’s wider plans for the site.

The site is in the Green Belt and the former pub has been identified as a non-designated heritage asset in the emerging Knaresborough Neighbourhood Plan.

The Design and Access Statement, prepared by Richard Eves Architects, says the existing building has suffered “extensive fire damage” and is “no longer considered viable for restoration”.

The architects say the plans would “reestablish the site’s historic hospitality function” with a new pub, homes and commercial space.

They say its position at the rear would allow it to “take advantage of views towards the adjacent cricket pitch”.

They describe the proposal as a “community oriented, high-quality and sustainable development” providing a “vibrant, functional and attractive addition” to Knaresborough.

More than 70 people attended a consultation event at Calcutt Village Hall in June, with the planning statement saying feedback was largely positive.

It says there was particular support for the replacement pub and “much needed local convenience store”, while residents also raised concerns about traffic, parking and the impact on neighbouring homes.

The plans include 19 parking spaces, including two accessible spaces, with an agreement in place allowing the pub to use the cricket club’s car park for overspill parking during events.

The replacement building would have brickwork to the front, rendered sides and a natural slate roof.

Painted timber windows, stone heads and window sills and other architectural details are proposed to reflect the character of the former pub.

The architects say the development has been designed to “respond sensitively to the historic and architectural character of Knaresborough”, while retaining features and proportions of the former pub façade.

Most of the existing green space would be retained, with a private garden also proposed for residents.

In the statement, the architects describe the plans as an opportunity to “revitalise a fire damaged and underutilised site”.

They say the development would provide new homes while retaining the site's commercial character and “still providing the community with a pub with views towards the cricket grounds”.

The application is being considered by North Yorkshire Council and a decision is expected by the end of November.