200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

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200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby dutchman » Wed Feb 09, 2022 5:58 pm

The Black Horse in Spon End has been sat empty for some years and now looks like it could be torn down

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Planning permission has been submitted to demolish a 200-year-old Coventry pub.

The Black Horse on Spon End looks set to be torn down as part of plans to widen the road due to a clean air initiative, but a local councillor has said the move will be a blow to the area's "historic character".

Coventry City Council is under a legally binding direction to improve air quality in the city as soon as possible. One action to be taken will see Spon End widened to make it a more viable route out of the city centre for motorists.

It is hoped that by doing so it will mean less drivers use Holyhead Road, which has been declared one of the city's worst offending roads for contributing to pollution.

The pub, believed to date back to the beginning of the 19th century, was at one point a Grade II listed building before being de-listed. It was then listed locally but this too was removed, something many are unhappy about.

Councillor for Sherbourne Ryan Simpson said: “I’m sad to potentially see this heritage asset demolished which would represent a further loss to Spon End’s historic character. I have long fought the dubious air quality proposals to push more traffic through Spon End and this is one of its most devastating impacts.

"However, I am also angry that the Black Horse has lost its locally listed status, due to unexplained circumstances whereby its historically significant Victorian interior was stripped. Serious questions need to be asked about how this was allowed and I will be making urgent inquiries.”

A council spokesman said: “We can confirm we received a full planning application for the demolition of the former Black Horse pub on 12 January. The application is currently under consultation until 17 February 2022 and can be viewed on our website.”

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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby dutchman » Wed Feb 09, 2022 6:10 pm

There was a proposal to demolish the pub in the 1980s to allow for road widening but it was met with fierce resistance by its regulars...

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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby Blitzkid » Tue Mar 01, 2022 4:17 pm

Well most of us know about the black horse and the king of the 'spon' was old charlie Lilley, he was the dirtributor of the poor fund, but by 1820 his power was gone, but he still held Court at the 'Black Horse' and could poll most of the voters in the area, he had been a Silk and Ribbon weaver. His little low four wheel carriage could often be seen outside the pub waiting for it's owner.
Round 1950 I believe a notice was displayed in a wooden case with glass front, that said people living near the spon brook and the river Sherbourne had fishing ' Rights' allocated to them. Tench, Bream, etc, till the Die-casters poisoned the waters. Blitz kid.
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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby dutchman » Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:36 am

This (poor quality) image from the late 1950s/early 1960s (which may have been artificially coloured) apparently shows some sort of café next to the Black Horse but it is in fact Moore's off-licence.

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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby dutchman » Fri May 27, 2022 6:26 pm

200-year-old Coventry pub to be flattened despite calls to save 'unique historic building'

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A 200-year-old former pub in Coventry will be knocked down so that the road next to it can be made wider. The Black Horse is set to be demolished after a close vote of 4-3 at the city council's Planning Committee on Thursday (26 May) - despite fierce opposition from members of the public and councillors.

An extra lane of traffic is set to be added to the B4106 in Spon End, widening a 'pinch point' and opening up an alternative route into the city centre. The decision is a victory for the council which is legally required to crack down on the city's toxic air but does not want to impose a costly Clean Air Zone on residents.

One solution, council officers say, is funnelling traffic away from pollution hotspots like nearby Holyhead Road and down other routes such as Spon End. But people living in the area and heritage groups spoke passionately against the proposals.

A 200-year-old former pub in Coventry will be knocked down so that the road next to it can be made wider. The Black Horse is set to be demolished after a close vote of 4-3 at the city council's Planning Committee on Thursday (26 May) - despite fierce opposition from members of the public and councillors.

An extra lane of traffic is set to be added to the B4106 in Spon End, widening a 'pinch point' and opening up an alternative route into the city centre. The decision is a victory for the council which is legally required to crack down on the city's toxic air but does not want to impose a costly Clean Air Zone on residents.

One solution, council officers say, is funnelling traffic away from pollution hotspots like nearby Holyhead Road and down other routes such as Spon End. But people living in the area and heritage groups spoke passionately against the proposals.

Resident of 30 years, Judith, told the council chamber that she now faces having a highway three metres from her front door. Disruption in the area "is turning into a nightmare for residents," she said.

"I predict that with further increases in traffic this will bring even higher levels of pollution and you will be forced to bring in a clean air zone after you've spent all the money demolishing and destroying this community."

Another member of the public suggested that pollution on Holyhead Road could be dealt with in other ways. "There's a McDonald's drive-thru with queues of cars going round the block," he said. "If you have to demolish something, please demolish that."

The building's heritage value was a key point for councillors opposing the plans. Committee member Cllr Catherine Miks said: "We've just had the city of culture - that building was part of the culture."

Fellow Cllr Roger Bailey said: "It's a unique historic building in a medieval settlement." He argued for it to be preserved and moved to a different location, which the council has done before. "We keep losing historic buildings," he said.

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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby dutchman » Sun Jan 08, 2023 4:43 pm

Centuries-old Coventry pub bulldozed for road widening

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A 200-year-old pub has been demolished to allow a nearby road to be widened.

The Black Horse in Spon End, Coventry, was no longer operating as a pub and city councillors voted to knock it down in May, despite objection from heritage groups.

The authority said the road widening was necessary to reduce congestion on the B4106 and improve air quality.

It also said redevelopment in the local area and the pub itself had "reduced its significance".

A small crowd of people turned out to watch the demolition on Saturday, and many expressed their sadness on the Visit Historic Coventry Facebook page.

Some shared happy memories of drinking in the pub before its closure a decade ago.

A council report said the earliest reference it could find of the building was 1808, when the anniversary meeting of the Gooseberry Feast was advertised to be held at Mrs Bant's "at the sign of the Black Horse".

The report said it was possible the pub could be even older.

Later references revealed it served as pub which hosted auctions, inquests and other gatherings, and played an important role in the community.

The Black Horse was given Grade II listed status in September 2011 as an example of a "simple and modest urban Victorian pub", but that listing was successfully appealed by its new owners in May 2012, who stripped out the interior.

Instead it was "locally listed" by the council, which concluded in May 2022 the benefits of the B4106 widening "substantially outweighed" the loss of the pub.

:bbc_news:
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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby Blitzkid » Mon Jan 16, 2023 4:09 pm

It does not mention that it had the fishing rights of the River Sherbourne and could issue day, week or season tickets to people living near the River.
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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby dutchman » Thu Jul 13, 2023 7:33 pm

Site of historic former pub to be car park for nearby Nissan showroom

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The land where a former Coventry pub sat is set to be transformed into a car park. The Black Horse pub in Spon End was demolished earlier this year.

And while some of the space created by knocking down the 200-year-old pub is being used for a road-widening scheme, plans have now been lodged with Coventry City Council to put a car park there for the neighbouring Nissan showroom. The plans request permission for telescopic bollards, hoop barriers and palisade security fencing, use of the site for vehicle parking and used car display.

The plans are listed as a delegated decision meaning they will be decided by a planning officer rather than the planning committee, and they are currently pending consideration. An application form states that the 572 square metre site will provide 36 car parking spaces.

The Black Horse, which was thought to date back to the beginning of the 19th Century, was bulldozed in January as part of a road widening scheme. Coventry City Council hopes that widening Spon End will make it a more viable route out of the city centre for drivers, easing pressure on Holyhead Road, which has been declared one of the worst in the city for pollution.

It is part of plans to improve the overall air quality in the city. A number of residents and heritage groups tried to save the historic pub from being demolished.

You can read more about the latest plans by searching the application reference PL/2023/0000841/FUL on the Coventry City Council planning portal.

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Re: 200-year-old Coventry pub could be torn down

Postby rebbonk » Thu Jul 13, 2023 8:43 pm

CCC need to hang their collective heads in shame. :fuming: :fuming: :fuming:
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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