Pub expansion approved despite parking concerns

Plans have been approved for the expansion of a Wetherspoon pub, despite a claim that a lack of parking had turned the area into a "warzone".

Residents near The Whiffler in Hellesdon, on the outskirts of Norwich, said they had had problems with pub customers parking in front of their homes for years.

Broadland District Council's planning committee unanimously approved the proposals, which include a new car park with 16 spaces at the back of the pub, but local ward councillors warned there would still be issues.

An agent for the pub chain said it "always seeks to be a good neighbour", and the car park should help minimise disruption.

According to a report to the planning committee, tensions date back to the Covid-19 pandemic, when the pub transformed its front car park into a beer garden.

That led to the loss of 20 parking spaces and, since then, residents have complained about visitors parking on kerbs and pavements.

One homeowner told the committee it had led to "threatening situations" and buses being forced to change their routes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Simon Jones, a Conservative councillor for South East Hellesdon, said the area "has become a warzone".

A recent incident had involved "very drunk" pubgoers getting into a van before narrowly avoiding a pedestrian and crashing into a wall, he said, and flying bricks from the crash narrowly missed a child's bedroom.

Fellow Conservative Shelagh Gurney, who represents the North West Hellesdon ward, said the parking problem was a dangerous issue.

The £1.2m expansion plans, which also include alterations to the beer garden, are intended to secure the long-term future of the pub.

But Gurney warned the expanded outdoor area would attract more customers and cause more problems for those living nearby.

"People will still park on the streets because there will be more people and more covers," she said. "It's appalling."

An agent for JD Wetherspoon said its investment would "ensure the pub remains an attractive venue, help support its long-term viability and minimise disruption".

As part of the application, the pub has offered to fund H-bars – elongated white markings painted across driveways which aim to deter motorists from parking on residential streets.

But Ms Gurney dismissed the measures as being without "legal standing", and called on the company to pay for yellow lines.

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