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Great Barr's Red Admiral pub facing demolition three years after closure

An eyesore pub which has blighted an estate for three years could finally be demolished.

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The Red Admiral pub

The Red Admiral, off Gorse Farm Road in Great Barr, could make way for new homes or shops.

The pub suddenly closed its doors in August 2016 before it was sold to a developer for £500,000.

Since then the pub, built in the 1950s, has stood empty and become a target for arsonists and vandals.

A charity bungee jump event held at the pub back in 2015

Hopes of redeveloping the pub were halted after a community asset order was placed on the building in March 2017, protecting it from demolition.

However that order was lifted in November after residents lobbied Sandwell Council.

Newton ward councillor Keith Alcock said it was residents who also campaigned for the order in the first place.

The pub’s owner, SEP Properties, is now planning on submitting a planning application to demolish the building later this month.

The Red Admiral was a well-known community pub before it closed its doors for the final time

SEP Properties previously applied to demolish the pub in May 2018 but this was refused due to the protection order.

Commercial director Pal Singh said the firm would like to build either residential or commercial development in its place.

He said: “We are planning on demolishing the building if we get planning permission, which we are hoping to put in at the end of July.

"We are hoping to go for either residential or retail.”

The pub was badly damaged in an arson attack in October 2017, which prompted speculation it could be demolished back then.

In its heyday, The Red Admiral was a “popular pub”, said Pauline Williams, aged 74, a resident who lives on the estate.

But she continued: “That was our local pub but it is all boarded up now, with graffiti, and this has caused us a lot of problems. It is a shame for the estate.”

Councillor Alcock said the general of consensus of residents is they would like some form of new development.

He said: “They have called for action and the frustration has been that there has been a lack of this.

"Most people want something done about the site.

"Some people prefer housing while some want a children’s play facility.”