Plans have been submitted to transform a former city pub into a mixed-use hub with a café and bar, shops and flats. The Church House Inn at Stow Hill in Newport, opposite Newport Cathedral, was put on the market in early March for an asking price of £45,000.
The once-popular pub has been empty for eight years after plans by Newport Cathedral to turn it into a community-focused facility failed to materialise. Cheryl Davies and Melanie Duggan won ownership of the building at auction and have set about their bold plans to reinvent the site, which have now been submitted through LRJ Planning Ltd.
Planning documents admit the building requires “extensive refurbishment and new uses to ensure it is fit for purpose”. The application also states the new owners are committed to developing a site in a way that is “truly outstanding and which significantly enhances its immediate settings”.
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If the plans are approved by Newport council’s planning committee, then the development will be split into sections including five apartments. Flat one will have one bedroom on the ground floor, flat two will be situated on the first and second floors and will have two bedrooms, and flat three will be a one-bedroom flat on the first floor.
Flat four will be a two-bedroom flat with access to a rear roof garden, and flat five will be located on the second floor and have two bedrooms. The applicants propose to make the site a car-free development, with a bike store along with a bin and recycling storage area at the back of the property.
The new owners propose the planned café and bar will open from 8am until 11pm from Monday to Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and from 10am until 11pm on Sunday. The application reads: “At the heart of the proposal is to ensure a vibrant reuse of the building that has been vacant for 10 years. In that period it has become run down and a target for anti-social behaviour.
"The applicant seeks to develop the site to improve the condition of the property, which would benefit the public by adding a sense of place and adding to the amenity of the nearby properties – and to take the opportunity to create a new development which is truly outstanding and which significantly enhances its immediate setting."
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