Bid to knock down pub is withdrawn

An application to knock down a landmark pub has been withdrawn and the building taken off the market, just weeks after its owners hoped to sell it on.

Minel, which owns the Whitburn Lodge and its surrounding land, had put the site up for sale in the lead-up to Christmas.

Now it is no longer for sale, while questions are being asked about what will happen next after an application briefly submitted to demolish the pub was withdrawn.

Whitburn Neighbourhood Forum says it raised concerns about the notice – a prior notification stating the owners wanted to knock down the derelict bar – with South Tyneside Council after it highlighted a planning application should be put in if a pub is to be razed to the ground.

The council has since confirmed a notice put up outside the property in Mill Lane was incorrect.

The owners have previously said they hope to get the land on a list earmarked for housing development and suggested as such when they put it on the market, but the details advertising the sale have now been taken down from online sites.

Phil Leaf, chairman of the forum, said: “Now the notice has come down and we know they will have to put in a full planning application, we want to hear what people would like to see happen to the site.”

A council spokesman said: “The applicant proposes to demolish Whitburn Lodge and a planning application is required in order to do this. However, the owner of the site submitted the incorrect planning form to the council and has posted an incorrect notice on site. The council has made the applicant aware of this error.”

The next meeting of the forum will be held at Whitburn Methodist Church in North Guards from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday, February 13.