Councillors faced a dilemma when granting permission for the old pub to be flattened
A derelict pub near Bedworth is set to be bulldozed and replaced by a scaffolding storage unit.
Concerns over traffic and the store’s appearance were outweighed by the need for jobs, and for the site to be used in some way, as councillors approved plans for The Black Horse in Exhall, which has been closed for a year, to be built on.
Objections had been submitted by neighbours and the Hawkesbury Village Residents Association citing fears for the loss of the building, which is locally listed.
Other concerns included the impact on traffic and that the new building would be an eyesore.
These thoughts were echoed by many members of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council’s planning committee who seemingly faced a dilemma over whether the prospect of bringing jobs to the area outweighed any negative impact the building could have.
Coun Bob Copland said: “It is the classic planning predicament. I do want jobs, who wouldn’t? But I am concerned about the traffic and the visual impact.”
G&R Scaffolding Ltd is the firm looking to build the industrial unit on the site. It currently employs 21 people full time and one part time. For the new site, G&R Scaffolding Ltd is looking to create nine more full time jobs and one more part time job.
The application was originally objected to by Warwickshire County Council’s Highways Department but this objection was withdrawn after plans were amended.
Coun Tony Lloyd said: “The pub had been in trouble for a long time. I know a lot of people have had a crack at it to try and get it to work.
“The whole of that area is a nightmare of traffic, this is going to be a monster on the corner, that area is a monster and we are just going to create another area of traffic.
“I think we as planners should think very very carefully before we allow anything further in there. That area wants us planners to look at it carefully before we start allowing some monster building in there because the county council said yes.”
The pub had previously not been making enough profit for the owner and had closed and re-opened a number of times before it finally closed for good.
A brewery can sell the lease to a pub over and over again - usually to someone with no experience of the pub trade - and pocket the cash every time it fails.
