A bakery is planned at the site of a former well-known pub north of York.

Coopland & Son (Scarborough) Ltd has applied to City of York Council to extend an existing café building at the back of the former Four Alls on Malton Road at Stockton-on-the-Forest.

The development, if approved, would add to the conversion of the empty pub into a café, believed to be a Starbucks.

The bakery chain seeks to open the store on a 0.42ha green belt site, which was previously a garage used by the long-closed pub.

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Th extension would be timber frame, and there would be signs to advertise the bakery, including a totem pole by the roadside.

This latest application continues the long-running saga of the site.

The pub, built in 1900, was said by the York Civic Trust to be one of jut a few ‘roadhouses’ built along the A64 between York and Scarborough.

The venue was a well-known stop-off on the way to the popular East Coast resort, but in recent years suffered a significant drop in trade making it uneconomic.

In 2019, pub operator submitted plans to demolish the pub and erect two five-bed homes on the site.

York Press: The site of the pub

The application was granted the following year, but it expired in July 2023.

In 2020, during the pandemic, Dennis Harley Developments, submitted plans to convert the pub into a Starbucks.

The redevelopment of the site included offices.

City of York Council initially refused the plans, but eventually the Teesside-based developer gained planning approval in December 2022, after it boosted measures to combat drainage problems, which has been the reason for the refusal.

The application from Cooplands says the application concerning the pub, where the Starbucks is said to be going, has been “lawfully implemented” and related construction works “substantially carried out.”

The site was in Green Belt but was remote and the scheme could satisfactory integrate into the landscape without changing its character.

It also said: “The proposed extension to the retail unit to the back of this complex would not result in further encroachment to the designated Green Belt, or the urban sprawl.”/highway safety and was thus acceptable.

Cooplands declined to comment ‘at this stage’ about its plans, which have yet to be determined by City of York Council.

The proposed Starbucks is said to create 25 jobs, with a similar number at the Cooplands outlet.

A spokesperson for Starbucks told the Press: “We are always looking for new locations and opportunities to bring the Starbucks Experience to customers in the UK, but at this time we have no updates to share about plans at the Malton Road site.”