Black Country Ales lodges plans to refurbish Ludlow's historic Unicorn Inn

The Grade II listed Unicorn Inn closed in 2023 and was put up for sale with a price tag of £350,000, but the price was slashed by £55k the following year after the property remained unsold.

In January the building was purchased by Black Country Ales, who immediately announced plans for a "minor refurbishment", which the firm said would focus on "restoring its original features to create a welcoming space for real ale enthusiasts".

The scheme lodged with Shropshire Council this week by the Kingswinford-based pub firm includes a number of internal alterations and refurbishments to create access for disabled customers, and improvements to the pub's toilet accommodation. 

The plans also include alterations to the former kitchen at the pub to overcome a historic flooding issue, as well as converting hotel rooms on the first floor to become a three-bedroom flat for the pub's new manager.

"The Unicorn has been closed for some time and over the closure period flooded, mainly in the kitchen, central lounge and basement cellar," said a statement submitted with the application.

"The rear kitchen will become a chilled beer store and the existing basement beer store will become redundant. This will overcome the flooding issue with the basement cellar."

Parts of the Grade II listed pub on Corve Street are believed to date back to the 16th century, according to a heritage report supplied with the proposals, which describes the building as "one of the few surviving examples of its type" in documenting the development of the town during the medieval period.

The report adds that the building "significantly enhances" the appearance of Corve Street.

The application can be viewed online via Shropshire Council's planning portal using reference 25/01085/FUL.