Plans unveiled to convert empty Northamptonshire village pub into family home
Plans have been unveiled to convert an empty Northamptonshire village pub that has stood empty for more than a year into a family home.
Documents submitted to West Northamptonshire Council show plans to convert The Carpenters Arms in Lower Boddington, near Daventry, into a single residential property.
The application, lodged by applicant Mr James Collins, states the pub closed in March 2025 and has been on the market since June 2025, but has failed to attract any interest.
Planning papers say: “Since closing in March 2025 the Carpenters was and still is available to either buy or lease but no parties have come forward.”
Documents submitted with the application say the change would involve only minor internal alterations, including removing the bar, installing a kitchen and refurbishing bathrooms. No changes are planned to the exterior of the building.
The planning statement says the site has been extensively marketed but to date no offers have been received.
Figures included in the submission show the pub was operating at a loss before it closed. The documents state it “made a loss of around £60,000 per annum” over its final two years.
The applicant argues that alternative commercial uses are not viable, with the report stating: “The village is too small and doesn’t have enough visitors to support the pub let alone a more specialist offering like a coffee shop.”
Other options, including a restaurant, bed and breakfast or nursery, were also dismissed in the planning papers.
The report concludes that the building is at risk if it remains empty, stating it “is starting to deteriorate with no one living there and it needs to be used”.
It adds that “the only way of securing the building’s future is to permit a change of use to residential”.
The applicant said: “The Carpenters could be considered a Non Designated Heritage Asset though it does not feature on the Local Authority’s list of such assets. It has been empty for a year and is showing some signs of neglect through non occupancy.
“The proposed change of use does not involve any changes to the exterior of the building. As such the proposals will only result in a positive benefit to the building since it will secure its long term future and maintenance.”
A decision on the application will be made by West Northamptonshire Council next month.