New plans for former Mayfield pub

Plans to restore the former Rowantree Inn in Mayfield back to a detached property have been lodged with Midlothian Council. It is the latest proposal for the building, thought to be the oldest in Mayfield and Easthouses, and which was originally known as Mayfield Farmhouse.

It had been operating with the Rowantree Inn on the ground floor and a flat above until 2013, when Craig Essen was fatally stabbed in the pub. Dean Williams was jailed for 10 and a half years for fatally stabbing Mr Essen.

Last year, Mayfield and Easthouses Community Council opposed plans to have the building demolished and up to 16 flats built on the site.

They called for the building to be preserved and supported an alternative application for the lower half of the building to be turned into a community facility and the upstairs – formerly the pub manager’s accommodation - to be a separate flat.

Planning officials rejected the demolition proposals for the site and approved the community facility alternative; however, the latest plans would now see the ground floor merged with the upstairs accommodation to return the building to a single dwelling.

The plans, which have been lodged by Mrs Iris Taylor from Mayfield, who also lodged the successful application for the ground floor to be converted into a community facility, have been published on the council website for consultation. The application says the plan now is “the ground floor and first floor are reinstated as one residential unit as it historically was prior to becoming a public house and associated rental flat”.