Plans for convenience store on Buckley’s Black Horse site refused
Plans for a convenience store on the site of the demolished Black Horse pub in Buckley have been refused by Flintshire County Council.
The decision, dated 24 April, leaves the Mold Road plot without an approved scheme.
The full planning application for the replacement store was refused on a single ground.
The decision said the developer’s biodiversity offer for the site was not enough, and was contrary to council policy which requires new development to provide a net benefit for nature.
The application was submitted in May 2025 by Thistlewood Properties Ltd, with planning agent Edgeplan Ltd.
It proposed demolition of the former pub and the erection of a convenience retail store with parking.
The applicant’s own ecology consultant had concluded the scheme would result in a net loss of green infrastructure on the plot.
In an ecology report submitted with the application, Arbtech Consulting Ltd wrote that “more on-site green infrastructure will be lost than gained” under the plans as drawn.
The same report set out the losses.
The scheme would remove all of the site’s grassland, all of its on-site trees, and most of its planted areas and gardens.
The new building would have a larger footprint than the pub, and more of the site would be covered by hard surface.
Mitigation proposed in the same document included raised planters with pollinator-friendly plants, climbing plants along boundary fences, native shrubs, bee bricks, insect hotels, two bat boxes and two bird boxes.
A revised version of the report was submitted in February.
The council found the biodiversity offer still fell short of policy.
Work to demolish the pub got underway last month.
Demolition had been approved in December 2025 under a separate process, which assessed only how the building would be taken down and not what would replace it.
The clearance prompted a formal letter from Buckley Town Council on 26 February.
The town council’s clerk, Karen Brown, wrote that the planning portal had recorded the town council and three county councillors as consulted on the demolition, when no consultation had been received.
In a 5 March response, Flintshire’s Chief Officer for Place and Growth David Fitzsimon acknowledged the portal record was wrong.
He wrote: “This was not the case and was an error on the system which has since been rectified.”
Fitzsimon also said the demolition consent did not predetermine the planning decision on the replacement store: “This will be considered on its planning merits, taking all material planning considerations into account.”
The store application was decided by a council planning officer rather than at a planning committee meeting.
The applicant has six months from the date of refusal to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
Check live fuel prices near you before you set off.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email news (@) deeside.com
NEW: Add Deeside.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Latest News
