A call to convert the ground floor of a former Ceredigion pub and Chinese takeaway to a home has been refused after the applicants failed to reach an agreement on its value and how much money would be given towards affordable housing.

In an application to Ceredigion County Council, Dr Krista Jones, through agent Castle Arch Designs Ltd, sought permission for change of use of ground floor from a hot food takeaway to a residential dwelling at The Red Cow Adpar, Newcastle Emlyn.

A supporting statement, through JMS Planning & Development, said: “The property was most recently used as a hot food takeaway, having previously operated as a public house. As such, it has fallen within Use Class A3 for many years.

“However, it has remained vacant since the closure of the Super Garden Chinese takeaway. This proposal seeks to convert the ground floor of the building into a high-quality, three-bedroom residential unit, contributing to the local housing supply and helping to meet ongoing demand in Adpar and the surrounding area.”

It concluded: “The proposal seeks to sensitively redevelop a currently vacant and underutilised building (ground floor) by delivering a high-quality residential unit in a location that is demonstrably sustainable. The site benefits from excellent accessibility to a range of local services, facilities, shops and public transport connections, all within close proximity to Newcastle Emlyn.”

The application also included an offer of a financial contribution toward affordable housing in the county.

The value of that contribution, currently set at 10 per cent of the open market value of a completed unit, proved a sticking point with county planning officers.

An officer report recommending refusal said: “An applicant provided valuation has been presented as part of the application at hand, indicating a valuation of £85,000 for the resulting unit of accommodation, yielding a 10 per cent commuted sum of £8,500.

“A third-party valuation has been procured by inhouse planners of the LPA with which to compare to this figure, whilst a range of comparison has been provided of somewhere between £119,000 to £180,000 in assessing nearby properties, the official valuation received for the proposed unit of accommodation stood at £160,000, resulting in a 10 per cent commuted sum of £16,000.”

It said that figure was not accepted by the applicant/agent, a compromise of £120,000 was offered by the authority, “a significant 25 per cent reduction of valuation,” which was rejected.

A “final compromise” saw a valuation of £110,000 offered, equating to a commuted sum of £11,000 “a reduction of some 31.25 per cent from the original third-party valuation obtained by the LPA,” which was also rejected.

The application was refused on the grounds it failed to meet the 10 per cent affordable housing contribution criteria as it “fails to make an appropriate contribution towards the provision of affordable housing and is therefore unacceptable”.

The Red Cow closed as a pub back in 2017.