Gosport pub built in the 19th century closes - as it could become flats and a shop

A pub in Gosport has called time at the bar for the last time - reigniting concerns that it could turned into flats.
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The Vine Public House in Stoke Road, Gosport, shut its doors on Saturday August 3 following a closing party on the Friday with a live band.

The building was added to a list of designated heritage sites in the Gosport area in 1995, but a pending application would see it partially demolished and turned into flats and a shop.

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PLC Architects submitted the application that would see the building become seven one bed apartments and a retail unit.

The Vine, GosportThe Vine, Gosport
The Vine, Gosport

Gosport Borough Councillor Julie Westerby, of Christchurch ward, said there have been 'rumours' about the pub 'for a while.'

She said: 'There is a planning application going in for shops and flats.

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'The council would look at it very closely, because we have flats planned in the high street, and we know parking is an issue for many residents.'

A number of residents have written to the council to object to the application, with several letters raising the issue of parking.

Cllr Westerby added she was 'very sad' to see the pub close.

Emma Huges, the lead singer of the band Spike and the Pieman, which played at the pub's closing party, said manager Jay Jewell had 'worked really hard' to make the pub a success.

She said: 'He was brilliant.

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'It's sad to see it go - it was a good part of the Gosport band circuit.'

The Gosport Society, a voluntary body which aims to protect the area's heritage, called The Vine 'a prominent and significant building on Stoke Road,' protected as a Locally Important Heritage Asset despite sitting just outside the Stoke Road Conservation Area.

The Vine was originally built as a tavern and tea garden in the early 19th century, with the building under going a renovation in 2002 after laying derelict for ten years.

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A letter from the society the council said it was 'unable to support this current proposal as it stands as we consider it to be an unwelcome overdevelopment in an already densely populated area.'

The planning application said the current single storey annex and yard on the western side are 'unsightly.’

Pubs closed at a rate of almost 40 per month last year, according to the government.

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