Bendigo statue will stay – and be restored
DEVELOPER SAYS PLANS WON’T AFFECT ‘LANDMARK’
THE developer behind the proposed conversion of an old Home Ales pub in Sneinton says its “landmark” Bendigo statue will be restored.
The monument honouring the 19thcentury fighter William “Bendigo” Thompson is on top of the building, for which conversion and expansion plans to create flats have been submitted.
The plans make no mention of what would happen to the statue.
The company leading the project has now confirmed that it will stay exactly where it is.
Zain Khan, owner of Simple Brix Ltd, said: “It would be foolish just to get rid of a landmark for no reason – especially when it’s not getting in the way of anything.
“And also it’s something to be proud that someone from Nottingham has got such a great history.
“They should have a prominent landmark.”
The former Bendigo pub in Thurgarton Street was tied to the Home Brewery.
It was renamed The Hermitage and later became a restaurant called Zam Zam. But the site has been derelict since the restaurant closed.
Mr Khan, 34, said: “When a place like this is up and running and there’s people coming in the building, the general area around it becomes a lot tidier.
“People are a bit more careful of what they are doing around there.
“At the moment the site is completely derelict.”
Mr Khan explained that a previous plan to convert the building into nine self-contained flats had been given the green light.
He has since submitted a fresh proposal to Nottingham City Council seeking to extend the building on either side to create an additional five flats.
Subject to planning approval, work could start on site in the next six to eight weeks – and the project is expected to take six to nine months to complete.
The first priority for the flats is to house working professionals. But Mr Khan said they could also potentially be for students too.
Mr Khan, who has owned the site since around July, said it had “so much potential”.
He said: “If you restore that building to its full potential, it should be one of the main plus points for Sneinton.”
The project is expected to cost between £500,000 and £1m. All the new flats are expected to be for people to rent.
Real ale campaigners say the Bendigo was once one of a number of pubs in the area – of which only one remains. Last week, Steve Westby, chair of the Nottingham branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), said: “A lot of the former pubs in that area have gone and now have different uses.
“There was The Fox and The Dale as well that is now flats.
“The Fox is now a solicitors’ office and the only remaining pub in the area is the Lord Nelson.”
It would be foolish just to get rid of a landmark – especially when it’s not getting in the way of anything
Zain Khan