East Lothian pub given official approval for beer garden 30 years after opening

The Crown and Kitchen, in East Linton, first received a licence for its beer garden in 1996 and has been operating the outside area under two owners since then.

Current owner Billy Robertson applied for a Certificate of Lawfulness for the garden from East Lothian planners which can be issued instead of planning permission if it can be proven the use has been in place for a long period of time.

Crown and Kitchen East Linton first got a licence for its beer garden in 1996. | Crown and Kitchen East Linton

In his application he said the beer garden had operated continuously since 1998 and was licensed two years before that.

He provided a signed affidavit from the previous owner who ran the pub before he took over in 2013 to confirm the beer garden was in use and a photograph of it taken in 2014.

Planners said in a report on the application there had been no objections lodged adding “it has been satisfactorily demonstrated by the applicant that the rear garden to the property known as ‘The Crown and Kitchen’ has been used as a beer garden for a continuous period of at least 10 years and as such is now lawful.”

The Crown and Kitchen has been a central part of the village of East Linton for generations. It famously featured in popular Channel 4 show Four in a Bed in 2014 where B&B owners rate each other’s businesses in a series of short stays.

It is described as a family-run hotel and gastropub in a building which dates back to the 18th century.