Flats - including penthouse suite - at city pub rejected

Plans to transform a disused part of a Norwich pub building into flats have been rejected.

An application to turn vacant areas of The Strangers Tavern on Charing Cross into six apartments was submitted in October.

Along with the apartments, which would have been added to the rear of the pub, Pilson Group, which owns the building, sought to build an extra storey on top of the roof to provide a penthouse suite.

But Norwich City Council has refused the planning bid over concerns it would adversely impact the surrounding area.

The decision letter said: "The proposed roof addition by virtue of its scale, form, height and materials fails to preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the host building or the wider city centre conservation area.

"The works will cause less than substantial harm to the setting of the Grade I Listed St Gregory Church and the City Centre Conservation Area.

"This harm is not considered to be outweighed by the provision of the additional dwellings."

The development, named Strangers Apartments in a nod to the building’s proximity to Strangers Hall, would have been a car-free project, with no parking spaces offered to potential buyers or tenants.

Access to the penthouse would have been via a private lift, while the rest of the apartments would have been reached through an alleyway to the side of the building.

The pub has been known by a number of names over the years, launching under its current guise in November last year.

It was refurbished in order to become a "traditional style pub with a modern twist" according to its manager Michael Falgate.

Prior to this it was craft beer bar The Mash Tun, which was also home to The Gin Palace and pop-up barbecue restaurant Harbecue.

Before being taken over by brewery Redwell, which ran it as the Mash Tun, it was known as the Hog in Armour, a name it held from 1977 until 2014. Before this it was called Pigeons.

The Strangers Tavern has been approached for comment.