Fire-hit pub building’s future in doubt after apartments plan shelved
The future of a fire-hit former pub building is up in the air after plans to convert it into apartments were shelved.
Applicant Amrik Singh had put forward a proposal to Walsall Council planners to turn the former Castle Inn on New Road into seven new flats for the area.
But he withdrew the application earlier this week, leaving the future of the boarded-up building uncertain.
The pub was closed in 2018 and was set to undergo a refurbishment until a severe inferno caused serious damage to the inside of the building.
It never reopened and efforts to market it as a pub business for future landlords to take on proved to be unsuccessful.
The venue then hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again in 2020 when police discovered a cannabis factory, valued at £500,000, inside.
A spokesperson for Walsall Council, said: “The application relating to proposals at The Castle pub, New Road was withdrawn at the applicant’s request on August 8, 2023.
“There was insufficient information for the local planning authority to determine the application and so the applicant chose to withdraw.
“Should they choose to resubmit a further application it will appear on the planning register.”
When the proposal was put forward, agents MTC Planning and Design said: “It is clear from in internal inspection that significant sums of money would be required to repair and restore the public house into a usable site, a cost that would be very risky due to a) the current economic climate that is severely affecting public houses, and b) the fact that this site has long lost its trade.
“Therefore, it is clear that public house is redundant and can be considered suitable for conversion, re-use and refurbishment.
“The proposals (are) to partially demolish the outbuildings to the former
Castle Inn public house, convert the existing buildings into studio style apartments and construct a two-story rear extension to include a 7th apartment.
“The proposals will seek to preserve a prominent local building, provide residential accommodation that does not cause overlooking issues to existing neighbouring properties, and improve existing site access.
“The design seeks to reuse a redundant building in a viable way that provides accommodation in a sustainable location.”
