Legal charity to move into part of disused city pub
The Prince of Wales pub in Norwich, which has been closed for more than two years. Picture: Denise Bradley - Credit: Archant 2013
A legal charity has been given the go-ahead to set up an office in part of a disused city pub.
The Prince of Wales pub on Prince of Wales Road has been vacant for some time and was placed up for sale for £325,000 in 2018.
The former pub remains empty and up for lease, but now the future of at least part of the building has been sealed.
Norwich-based legal charity Norfolk Community Law Service has been granted permission to convert an extension that once served the pub into its new headquarters.
The move will allow the charity, which offers free, independent legal advice, to have a more visible presence in the city centre and will see it relocate from its current local on Colgate.
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Sarah Clack, operations manager at NCLS, said the new office is likely to open in June, depending on government guidelines.
She said: "We are delighted that permission has been granted and we will have a new place to deliver access justice through our advice services.
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"We are already fairly central in the city, but we are tucked away behind other buildings so this will give us a more visible high street location, which will be really useful."
The move will see NCLS operate from the ground floor of the extension, with the upper floors already in use for offices. It will also see a new fire exit installed at the rear of the building.
Meanwhile, the pub itself, which has been empty for more than two years, is being advertised for lease by estate agents Arnold Keys.
Previously ran by the Greene King brewery, the leasehold for the pub is advertised for £40,000 per year.
According to the Norfolk Pubs website, the site was first licensed more than 200 years ago, in 1870, operating as a hotel.
It was previously known as the Wine and Spirits Vault and the Robinson Hotel, before being renamed the Prince of Wales in 1875.
It was placed up for sale in 2018 and made available for lease in September 2019, but is yet to find new operators.
