A PUB in Bromsgrove can now hold weddings which the owners say will secure its future.

The Dodford Inn closed last August due to increasing costs and the poor health of one of the owners, David Myatt.

David and his wife Gina have owned the pub since 2015 and invested in the land and building, extending the site to include a restaurant and planting thousands of trees.

However, the couple, both of retirement age, wanted to sell the pub but received no sensible offers.

Now younger members of the Myatt family have taken on the running of the pub since March and want to venture into the world of weddings.

A planning application submitted to Bromsgrove District Council to change the use of The Dodford Inn from a public house to a mixed-use venue that can hold civil ceremonies has been approved by the planning committee.

However, Dodford with Grafton Parish Council objected to the application as they were concerned about noise and extra traffic.

The council’s objection states: “The Parish Council is concerned about the noise level that would inevitably be associated with any wedding venue.

“The level of noise from a pub/restaurant with up to 60 customers at any one time currently seems to be acceptable to neighbours, but were this noise to include speeches, live music, and music from a dance floor, things would be very different.  

“Given that up to 85 cars may be expected to descend on the Inn in a short space of time several times a week, this would result in an unacceptable level of traffic congestion.”

The highways authority along with Worcestershire Regulatory Service who were consulted about the noise created by the application had no objections.

Currently, the pub employs three full-time members of staff and four part-time but it is now expected the venue will employ an extra seven full-time members of staff and an extra eight part-time staff members.