Former Portsmouth pub and Chinese restaurant the Mary Rose and Dragon will become flats

Members of the city council’s planning committee approved the scheme for the Mary Rose and Dragon in St George’s Road, welcoming efforts to bring the building back into use.

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The application, submitted by Surrey-based developer Warblington Street Limited, will see minor extensions built to the building to cater for the change of use of the building and the upper floor flats.

‘The site is currently vacant and not maintained,’ a statement submitted on behalf of the developer said. ‘It does not provide any positive contribution to St George’s Road or the quality of residential environment in the surrounding area.

‘The [Old Portsmouth] conservation area has a very limited range of food shops, other than a couple convenience stores. The proposal will benefit the community with a new proposed convenience retail store.’

The firm’s planning agent Chris Frost, speaking at Wednesday’s (January 18) meeting, echoed this, saying the use of the building for a convenience store was acceptable under planning policy.

The application was first submitted in September although a range of revisions were made, including providing allocated parking spaces for the residents of the flats.

These changes saw council planning officers recommend that planning permission be granted

‘The change of use would, in itself, not require planning permission and would secure a long-term viable use of the site and would represent an acceptable form of development,’ a report published ahead of the meeting said.

This position was accepted by councillors, although they requested that a condition on landscaping proposals, which will be agreed before work starts, be strengthened with the aim of having trees planted on the edge of the site.

The Mary Rose pub was built in 1883 and originally named the Gloucester Hotel. It underwent a major refurbishment to mark its 100th anniversary in 1984 before becoming the Dragon Chinese restaurant in 2005.

Friends of Old Portsmouth welcomed efforts to bring the building back into use and protect its appearance.