A PUB that was the subject of a four-year-long battle between the owner and the tenants might be subject to a change of use application after an eviction.  

Mark Dew owns the historic Yorkshire pub The Punch Bowl in Low Bentham and was in a bitter feud with Douglas and Shanti Traynor until he got an eviction notice served on them through Lancaster County Court.

He said it would have 'more value' if it was no longer a pub, especially after the lengthy dispute. 

Mr Dew claims that he has never received rent from the tenants who occupied the pub for four years and four months and that he has had to foot a £2,000 electricity bill. He also claims that there were 47 court hearings related to the dispute. 

An eviction notice was given to Douglas Traynor and all other occupants to vacate the premises on November 23 by Lancaster County Court in the form of a warrant of possession. 

A claimant can ask a court to evict if their tenants do not leave the property by the date given. 

The pub was served a closure order by Craven District Council last year for selling alcohol without a licence, which the council said was the first time it had done this. Mr Traynor is appealing 12 charges related to serving without a licence at the pub, which will be heard at York Crown Court on February 23 2024. 

Mr Traynor claims that he and his wife have been subject to an 'online witch hunt'.

He said the eviction was based on the closure order rather than the rent arrears, which he says was the fault of Mr Dew as the licence holder for the pub. 

Mr Dew said: "They never paid the rent. He didn't pay the electricity bill. £2,000 - somebody's got to pay for the building." 

About the future of the pub, Mr Dew said: "I am a licensee, I would like to open the pub again. But it is worth far more from a change of use, it is an expensive exercise to get the licence back."