A “dilapidated” former pub in Havant could be turned into 'supported living' flats

Formerly known as The Golden Slots, the upper floors of the East Street building were used as an amusement arcade with a private members club, The Havant Club, to the rear. It was also once known as the White Hart pub. Applicant Johnathan Heather now wants to partially demolish the rear outbuilding to provide alterations and extension of ground floor premises to create four supported living flats with communal spaces, staff accommodation and refuse and bicycle storage.

But local residents have hit out against the plans, with one of two objectors saying the area “is being spoiled by cheap and poor development both by and for people who have no interest in their environment or the locality”. They also hit out at there being too many “seriously dilapidated” buildings in East Street, adding: “I do not feel this developer has any empathy for the area or the condition of the building.” There are also concerns with “overbuilding” in the area, spoiling the heritage site, and lack of parking for the four units. Council planners have also been criticised for choosing two failed developer ideas, an amusement arcade and a withdrawn application as a convenience shop.

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The White Hart public house was built in 1889 by local architect Alfred Edwin Stallard (1861-1953) who also built the grade II-listed war memorial across the street and the United Reformed Church on North Street. The former pub has been closed since 2018 with problems plaguing the building including a water leak which has rotted floors. Documents said that after the building shut down, the previous owner made “reasonable attempts” to let and sell the ground floor premises before selling it to the current applicant.

The site is in the middle of Havant town, in St Faith’s Conservation Area, listed in 2014 for the special architectural interest. The report from AB Heritage said: “Key architectural features include the distinctive arched windows with geometric designs, the prominent first-floor gables, and the terracotta decorative plaques on the North and East Street elevations. Number 1 East Street is assessed to be a Designated Heritage Asset of High significance. The attached outbuildings are not considered to be of heritage significance.”

When looking at the current plans, Hampshire and Isle of Wight police said the cycle store needs to be made secure and lighting added both inside and out. It said that the ground floor windows that give access from the street need to be made safe with fixed panes or openable window restrictors that only provide for the windows to open 20mm or so to be fitted.

A detailed 57-page heritage report with maps and plans is among the planning application documents. Planners will make a decision on the application, with the reference APP/23/00851, in due course.