Leicester: Historic city pub to be demolished for flats

The Black Boy pub in Albion Street, Leicester, has been closed since 2012

Plans to tear down a 1920s pub so 38 flats can be built on the site have been approved.

The Black Boy pub in Albion Street, Leicester, has been closed since 2012 and was described as an "eyesore".

The city council's planning committee heard the plans to retain just the facade of the original building described as a "dreadful compromise".

But the committee said it was "stuck between a rock and a hard place" as the area urgently needed more housing.

The five-storey complex will contain 26 studio flats and 12 one-bed apartments, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Patrick Kitterick said: "Is it Frankenstein or is it a zombie or is it mummified remains it reminds me of?

"The body parts are still there, but it is nothing like what it used to be. It's kind of there but it's not there.

"Part of me actually thinks 'demolish the thing and put it out of its misery' because every time I walk past these facade creations, I always think it's a dreadful compromise."

The meeting also recognised the size of the rooms were smaller than the nationally-recommended size - partly due to retaining some of the old building - but it was not enough to reject the scheme.

Councillor Lynn Moore said: "I think we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. I really do.

"We've got the aesthetic angle to preserve our built heritage and then we've got the utilitarian because we do need more housing, we always need more housing for people.

"We need flats, particularly in the centre.

"And it has become an eyesore, it really, really has."