Plans for new Tesco at former Mary Rose and Dragon pub in Old Portsmouth

Planning permission for the conversion of the Mary Rose and Dragon building in St George’s Road was granted in January but the occupier lined up was not made public at the time.

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

But Tesco has now submitted a separate application to allow it to put up branding and signs at the site to make it into a Tesco Express store. The company has not yet announced a date for the store’s opening.

‘The application seeks consent to display a number of advertisements in relation to the building’s proposed use as a Tesco Express,’ a statement submitted by consultancy ROK Planning on behalf of the company says. ‘The previous use of the site was a public house which displayed signage and on this basis the principle of displaying signage is seen as acceptable.

‘The proposed signage is in keeping with the scale and character of the area, appropriately and sensitively illuminated and does not obscure the elevation design and architectural features of the building.’

The branch will be Tesco’s 15th supermarket in Portsmouth. The planning application approved earlier this year allows the conversion of the building into a convenience store and was approved partly due to a lack of grocery provision in Old Portsmouth. Planning permission was granted by the council’s planning committee for the new business to operate from 7am until 11pm seven days a week and two two-bed flats can be built on the first floor of the building.

The application was supported by Friends of Old Portsmouth which welcomed efforts to bring the building back into use and to protect its appearance.

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. The restaurant closed in March 2022. The council has set a deadline of August 29 for reaching a decision on the latest application.

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