A PUB could install new outdoor seating to ‘manage overcrowding’.

Greene King has submitted to Bucks Council a planning application for additional outdoor space at The Marlow Donkey pub on Station Road.

Plans detail the creation of three outdoor customer pergolas.

A pergola is an outdoor garden feature usually forming a covered walkway or seating area.

An existing smoking shelter will also be removed.

“The design comprises of the removal of an existing timber smoking pavilion (smoking shelter) and the construction of three single-storey open pergolas,” a design and access statement reads.

“The provision of new outdoor space ensures that the indoor areas of the venue are less prone to overcrowding and make it possible to maintain a greater distance between customers.”

It adds: “The existing paving to the patio will also be improved and made good where necessary.

“These proposals will be to the benefit of the building both in terms of presentation of the site and ensuring the economic viability of the pub going forward. This is of particular importance in light of the frequent closures of local pubs and their disappearance as community assets in their own right.”

The applicant is now awaiting a decision from Bucks Council.