A landmark South Bristol pub WILL reopen after planners gave the go-ahead for a major renovation there.
The Cross Hands pub, on the corner of Bedminster Down Road and Bishopsworth Road, has been closed since before the covid pandemic and local residents feared it would never reopen - especially when a local firm known for its demolition work - The Wring Group - took on the site.
But The Wring Group applied for, and has now been granted, permission to refurbish and extend the pub, and create new guests rooms to restore the Cross Hands back to the traditional inn with accommodation.
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The plan is to demolish a single storey building at the back of the pub - the skittle alley - and that would free up the space to build a two-storey extension housing a function room with a small kitchenette serving sandwiches, while upstairs there'll be a bar and an extension with four B&B rooms. Between the new building and the existing pub, there would be a covered courtyard area which would increase the size of the pub's capacity.
Hopes that the plans could be approved and work done over the summer with the pub ready to reopen by Christmas were hit by delays at the planning department. The Wring Group submitted a planning application in March, but it took until August for a planning officer to approve the plans under delegated powers.
In the report outlining why the planning officer gave consent to the plans, they said it would not affect neighbours and there was no reason not to give it permission. "The development would include a two-storey accommodation area at the rear of the site adjacent to residential properties which do not demonstrate side windows overlooking the site," they said.
The Cross Hands posted on its Facebook page that it would now be looking for builders and tradesmen in the community to get started on the work. "Planning Permission has been approved," they said. "Now time for the hard work to start to get the much loved community pub open! Although disappointingly with the construction works ahead we will not be open for Christmas as originally hoped. If any local trades people would be interested in quoting for different aspects of the construction works please get in touch," they added.
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