New plans approved for former Aberdour pub which has sat empty for a decade
Permission has been served up to turn a former Aberdour pub into a family home and two holiday lets.
The Cedar Inn on Shore Road has lain empty since 2018.
Owen and Rachael Dyer had applied to Fife Council for consent to create a large family house in the north part of the building.
The south end will become two self-contained holiday lets, one with a single bedroom and the other with two, accessed from the rear and described as ancillary to the main dwelling.
At the back, the old car park and former beer garden will be rearranged to give the house a private garden, and six marked parking spaces, three reserved for the home and three for the lets, using the existing access from Livingston Lane.
A report on behalf of the applicants said the premises have been shut and largely empty for around a decade.
This followed a spell of repeated closures between 2015 and 2018 and a subsequent sale to Star Pubs, part of Heineken UK, who never managed to reopen it.
Two rounds of planning permission for refurbishment were granted in 2019 and 2023, and the building was heavily marketed as a pub and hotel opportunity, but no tenant came forward. It was eventually advertised for sale early this year and bought by the applicants.
A report by Fife Council planners said it was considered the proposed two uses would be “broadly in keeping” with the mixed-use character of the surrounding area.
It continued: “Overall, it is considered that sufficient evidence has been provided to demonstrate that the existing business is not viable.
“Supporting information has also been provided which outlines that Aberdour continues to be served by other public houses etc, ensuring no significant loss of local amenity.
“In light of all the supporting information provided, it is considered that the loss of the existing public house as a result of the proposed development would be acceptable.”
Approving the application, the report added: “The proposal is compatible with the area in terms of land use, design and scale.
“Furthermore, no significant impacts would arise in regard to existing levels of residential amenity, visual amenity or road and pedestrian safety.”