Bar owner's plan to take on second venue despite pub deal falling through
The Prince of Wales pub in Prince of Wales Road, Norwich - which was set to be taken over by Cans N Cocktails boss Andre Smith - Credit: Archant 2013
The owner of a city centre bar is on the hunt for a second venue after his original plan fell through.
Andre Smith was set to take on the Prince of Wales pub in the road of the same name, alongside his other business in the clubland - Cans N Cocktails.
At the time he planned to have it open within two months.
Andre Smith, owner of Cans N Cocktails in Prince of Wales Road - Credit: Sonya Duncan
But the bar boss had to slam on the breaks earlier this summer due to new legislation from Natural England, which has affected many other developments across the county.
This is because turning the upstairs into Airbnb-style quarters were involved in the regeneration plans.
Norfolk councils must not grant planning permission for any schemes involving overnight accommodation until it can prove they would not lead to more nutrients flowing into waterways.
For this reason Mr Smith decided not to proceed with taking over the Prince of Wales.
The Prince of Wales pub pictured in 2013. - Credit: Archant 2013
Mr Smith said: "The ruling restricts us from doing what we wanted to do upstairs.
"It's frustrating because nobody seems to have any clue on how or when this will be resolved. There's no end in sight.
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"There are other ventures that come up that I already know will be blocked by the same thing."
However Mr Smith refuses to be deterred and said he is still ploughing ahead with trying to find a second venue.
He added: "We're constantly looking for new opportunities.
"Norfolk as a whole has great opportunities and hospitality bits are popping up all the time. Things are constantly changing hands.
"The pub in its location and notoriety would've been a nice venue to have - but there are other venues on Prince of Wales Road also on the market."
He teased his potential plans: "There's actually one on the market even closer to Cans N Cocktails than the Prince of Wales is.
"There are several plates spinning but none of them are in a position of progression yet. There's lots of ideas we're looking at."
Mr Smith added that he understands that another party has signed the lease for the once-popular boozer.
