A RYEDALE village pub that was at the centre of a long-running planning dispute is to be put up for sale.

The couple who run the School House Inn at Low Marishes, near Malton, finally won their battle last month to carry out some alterations when a Government planning inspector backed their appeal after their latest plans were turned down again by Ryedale District Council earlier this year.

Now, Sarah and Matthew Richardson are to put the pub plus a first-floor flat and adjacent holiday letting rooms up for sale.

An open viewing of the complex will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2pm-3.30pm, and formal tenders should be received by no later than 5pm on November 30 at agents Brownill Vickers of Sheffield.

Mr Richardson said: “We are doing what we said we would do. We are glad that we can move forward after all that has happened. It is an exciting project and we want to be positive about the future.”

When the council’s planning committee heard last month that the couple’s appeal had been successful, members were also told that the local parish meeting no longer took issue with the application but wanted certain conditions applied. But Gary Housden, the head of planning, said it would not be logical to apply them.

When the issue went to a vote, a majority of the committee agreed to the change of use and alteration of part of the pub to a three-bed home with the remainder of the building to be retained as a pub with first-floor living accommodation.

The committee heard the plans also included external and internal alterations, the erection of a garden dining room and the change of use and alteration of adjacent buildings for a pub kitchen and five holiday letting bedrooms.

A report to the committee also pointed out that with the garden and dining room area, the ground floor area of the pub would be about 70 per cent of the current premises.

The couple intend to retain the three-bed house.