The George and Dragon in Newton, near Castle Acre, had been seeking permission to build the bakery, shop and cookery school in its car park.
The bakery would provide a new home for Routier, an established local firm in West Acre which the applicant said had outgrown its current site.
The George and Dragon pub (Image: Kieron Tovell)
Routiere is currently located at Abbey Farm in West Acre (Image: Google)
The firm’s management, which also rent out rooms at the pub, said the new provisions would allow them to supply fresh sourdough and pastries to guests and passers-by.
The company also argued the scheme would cut down on food deliveries, create four new skilled full time jobs and see EV charging points installed.
However planning officers at Breckland Council had sought to block the plans, arguing the site was located in “rural countryside” and the scheme would be more suitable in one of the nearby towns of Swaffham, Dereham and Fakenham.
They also raised concerns that the business would result in too many cars coming in and out of the village of Newton, which has a population of around 50.
The bakery is set to create a host of treats for pubgoers (Image: Archant)
However the planning meeting resulted in the officers’ recommendations being rebuked.
Conservative councillor Mark Kiddle-Morris said the plans were an example of “entrepreneurial thinking”, and noted that the bakery would create a “mutually beneficial” relationship with the existing pub.
Nigel Wilkin, who chaired the meeting, reminded his colleagues that the pub had closed down in the past, resulting in a boarded up building he described as an “eyesore”.
A representative from Black Lion Hotels Ltd, which owns the site, said: “This development strengthens what we already have, keeps spending local, it creates skilled rural jobs, reduces food miles by producing goods on site, and improves the viability of the long established rural business which contributes to the economy.”
It was approved unanimously by the committee.