A RYEDALE pub at the centre of a long-running saga over its fate has come under the spotlight again.

New plans have been submitted to Ryedale District Council to convert the School House Inn at Low Marishes, near Malton, into a four-bed house.

These are the latest in a controversy stretching back several years with many local residents opposing the closure of the pub which included a restaurant.

At previous meetings of the council’s planning committee, residents packed the public area and, on one occasion, peacefully demonstrated outside with placards to show their opposition.

But the owners, Matthew and Sarah Richardson, argue that the business, which closed in 2009, is not commercially viable and that there has been no interest from others in running it as a pub.

They say it does not benefit from any significant levels of passing trade and was not in an area that benefited from a daytime working population.

Previous planning applications to convert the buildings into homes were rejected by the council’s planning committee and by Government planning inspectors when the issue went to appeal.

But last year the couple took the issue to appeal again and a Government planning inspector gave them his backing.

The committee then reluctantly agreed that part of the main pub building could be converted into a three-bed house with a smaller pub with first-floor living accommodation.

The committee also agreed to external and internal alterations, including the erection of a garden room dining area and a change of use of outbuildings to form a kitchen and five holiday letting rooms.

This was then put out to tender and the business was advertised.

But it failed to reach its reserve price when it went for auction recently, despite the Richardsons saying they had tried to market it as a business.

They say the lack of interest in buying it as a business, in spite of their efforts, shows that it was not fit for any other purpose than residential.

The couple say that although the five letting rooms had also been offered on the market there had been no interest in the scheme.

Now, officials are studying their plans before the issue comes once again back to the planning committee.