Plans unveiled for historic village pub

A historic Herefordshire village pub is poised to reopen – but its new owners plan some major changes first.

Dating from the 17th century, the grade II listed Roebuck Inn in Brimfield, between Leominster and Ludlow, has been closed since 2023, before being bought in June by Dudley-based Black Country Traditional Inns for a reported £265,000.

Now the firm says in a planning application (number 253337) and bid for listed building consent (253338) that it intends to knock down a modern extension which previously linked the pub to the adjacent three-bedroom hotel and village shop.

This ancillary building would become a private home, with “ample” parking in front, which would then be sold separately.

To enable this, the modern beer garden in front of the extension would be moved to the other side of the pub, where a new entrance would be created.

Black Country Inns also plans to make “minor” internal and external alterations to the pub building itself, which would then reopen “as a traditional real ale public house”.

But as the company “does not operate a food offering”, the current commercial kitchen to the rear would be stripped out and become the new toilets, replacing those lost in the removal of the extension.

The first floor of the pub would remain as staff accommodation.

Comments on the applications can be made until January 29.

In its most recent accounts, for the year to the end of 2024, Black Country Traditional Inns said it “hopes to continue to slowly acquire individual public houses, as and when they become available”, while “extending some of the brewery to allow for increased brewing capacity for the years ahead”.

This stands in contrast to the national picture, with government figures showing that 366 British pubs were demolished or converted to other uses in the year to December.