Developers have put in an application to Norwich City Council to convert the Freed Man in the Norwich suburb of West Earlham into student flats. It was the last pub in West Earlham before it closed in June 2015.
But the pub protection officer for CAMRA’s Norwich & Norfolk branch Neil Bowers believes there is an appetite for a pub in the suburb with a potential buyer looking to keep the site as a pub waiting in the wings.
As part of an effort to rescue the site, CAMRA has written to the council to object to the developer’s plans and lodged an application to have the site recognised as an asset of community value (ACV).
Bowers said: “From what I hear from people in that area, the Freed Man was popular and well used by the locals so there is still an appetite there for a pub.
“There is now a risk of there not being a public house in that area to use, which would be a real shame. That is mainly why we’re objecting,” he told The Morning Advertiser (MA).
ACV application pending
If the developers are granted planning permission, the ACV application would not prevent the conversion. However, if planning permission is not granted and the ACV status has been approved, the community would then get the opportunity to purchase the pub if the developer sold it.
Bowers told MA he is “reasonably confident” that Norwich Council will grant the site ACV status and added that, if this happens, there is a potential buyer who would look to reopen the pub.
“I am talking to someone who is more than happy to step in and put money forward to get the pub up and running again because he firmly believes that it was a really good pub with lots of potential,” he said.