NEWS that The Wheatsheaf pub in Upper Stratton is to be demolished to make way for new houses has been met with a mixed reaction from local residents.

There has been a pub on the site in Dores Road since 1841 although the current building, which has been closed and boarded up for months, was rebuilt in the 1960s.

The current owners, Just Pubs Ltd, have applied for permission to demolish the building and replace it with four pairs of semi-detached houses with gardens.

Each house would have two allocated parking spaces.

For the most part, residents in the immediate vicinity are not sad to see the back of The Wheatsheaf.

Many said that although the pub was local in terms of proximity, it was not used by many of its immediate neighbours and had become a magnet for trouble with raucous parties, loud noise and regular police attendance.

Howard Carey, who lives nearby, said: “It’s a good job it’s shut. We couldn’t sit out in our garden on some days with the noise when it was a pub.

“Their outline plans look pretty good, I was a bit worried that the houses were going to be squashed in but they don’t look too bad.

“They’ve got some parking and small gardens, the front of the houses look quite nice too.”

While the residents are not fundamentally opposed to the arrival of new homes, they do have concerns around some specifics of the planning application thus far.

Another new development was recently built in the adjacent Heritage Lane and the overflow of parking on Dores Road is already an issue – they fear the loss of roadside parking outside what is now the pub could exacerbate the problem.

The application also states the area is not prone to flooding and that there are no trees on the site yet the junction floods regularly during heavy rainfall and there are in fact two mature trees in the pub’s front yard.

Eva Hamilton, who lives nearby, said: “I do wonder why the notification area was so limited, the houses immediately next door to the pub were told about the plans but those a few doors down were not.

“The parking situation is a concern, we’re lucky that we have a drive but those houses opposite have no off street parking and they really struggle.

“That development actually looks ok but there are some issues, I hope that we can have a proper discussion with the council before any building starts.”

Another resident of Upper Stratton, who did not wish to be named, said she was disappointed to lose the pub.

She said: “Despite what people round here say, it was a local pub. I’ve lived in Stratton all my life and people always used to go there.

“It had its issues, but we don’t need more houses. Turn it into a local convenience store or something.”

Consultation on the application closes next Thursday with a decision expected by the end of June.