Housing plans revealed for derelict Hucknall pub site
A Hucknall pub that has been derelict for more than a decade could be torn down to make way for new homes.
The site of the former Seven Stars pub in West Street could finally end up being used for redevelopment.
After closing in 2013, the pub has sat empty ever since, with a developer saying the building has a ‘detrimental effect’ on the setting of the conservation area.
Now, Morro Partnerships Limited and Dorothy, James, Thomas and Joanna Sztejer have applied to Ashfield Council to demolish the structure and use the land for 30 affordable homes.
Housing was not the first plan put forward for the old site.
It was set to become a new super health and wellbeing centre a few years ago.
Hucknall was previously one of six UK towns shortlisted to host one of the new Cavell Centres, named after the British World War I nurse Edith Cavell, and would have brought services including GP practices, pharmacies and dental clinics together in one building.
The former Conservative Government paused this pilot programme in 2023 and the current Labour Government did not commit to the scheme when it came into office, where it was ultimately scrapped over financial viability problems.
Andrew Ludlow, secretary at Nottingham CAMRA, who lives in the town, said the potential loss of the building was ‘sad’, but spoke of the financial difficulties of running a pub which have made many ‘unviable’.
He said: “It’s a shame, I remember it in its days of a home brewing pub and it was very much a local community pub.
"I always hoped it could be preserved and kept as a pub, it’s part of the historic pub scene in Hucknall.
“As a resident it’s one of my greatest concerns, an increase in housing but no increase in health services, making our local surgery almost impossible to get an appointment now.”
Mr Ludlow called pubs an ‘essential fabric of our towns’ and that they were ‘disappearing at an alarming rate’.
He added: “They’re not simply a business, they’re very much community centres.
“The only good thing occurring is we’ve had quite a number of micro pubs open in Hucknall and that’s useful but it’s still a worrying sign to see places now gone.”
The proposed mix of houses includes 14 two-beds, 14 three-beds and two three-beds.
Planning documents say each home would include off-street parking, either with a driveway or courtyard spaces.
The council will decide on the plans at a later stage, with the authority giving a deadline of September 30 for a decision.