Old pub might become a listed building - but apartments plan gets go-ahead

A scheme to transform a derelict pub in Wgian into a complex of six apartments has been approved even though an application for it become a listed building is yet to be determined. The town’s planning committee gave Property Investment Complete North West’s plan for the Ben Johnson Hotel on Warrington Road the go-ahead in the face of objections from local residents and one councillor who claimed its location at the junction of Fulbeck Avenue would create a potential traffic hazard.

Empty and disused for six years, the 120-year-old former pub stands adjacent to another building which is a Grade II listed building which is believed to be the original hostelry. Decisions over whether a building becomes listed or not are made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, or the public body Historic England.

The application also includes the demolition and replacement of a single-storey rear extension and five parking spaces. During the meeting fears were raised that it was being developed for use as a house of multiple occupation (HMO). However, the committee was told that each apartment would be self-contained and they would be separate homes.

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The committee was told that an application for the old pub to be listed had not been determined. Coun Susan Greensmith asked how a decision could be made on the scheme when an application to make the building listed was still pending.

Principal planning officer Michael Jones said that the listed building request was ‘not a material consideration’ at the time the planning application was submitted. “If it becomes a listed building, the applicant will need to come to the council for listed building consent,”