An historic Severnside inn which struggled in the wake of crippling bills and went up for sale has now requested permission for a project to convert to domestic housing.

The Boar's Head, which has records of trading going back to 1844 and which sits opposite the site currently under-construction for a Co-Operative store on Berkeley's Lynch Road, came into the news last October after landlady Sam Hall shared the pub's financial plight with Punchline-Gloucester.com.

Finding herself caught between crippling mortgage repayments which rocketed from £900 to £1,300 per month, Ms Hall, who employs two bar and kitchen staff, was then ambushed by an energy bill for £7,000.

Amid tears, she told Punchline: "I'm being effectively forced out and I live in dread, expecting the baillifs to knock."

The pub as a going concern subsequently went onto the market with Dursley agents Bennett Jones Partnership at a guide price of £510,000.

With no evident success to date, the agent has confirmed that the property remains on sale. However, Ms Hall indicated in October that a Plan B for potential conversion of the main building, and further development on the site, remained a final option.

That plan now sits with Stroud District Council and it requests part demolition of the pub, with some conversion of the public area and residential space above, as well as the development of two separate dwellings which would adjoin number 16, Lynch Road and extend the street's existing terrace over the pub's car park access. In all, four homes would be created by the scheme.

A Design and Access statement from MRM Group said the development of four homes would share a car park for 10 vehicles and include two EV charge points.

It said: "The applicant has owned the pub for over 10 years. In the early years and prior to the applicant purchasing the site, the Boar's Head had a poor reputation in the local neighbourhood due to a bad selective customer base."

It added: "During this time from the purchase the applicant began a transformation of the pub and [sic] much to the admiration of the local council and the Licensing department." 

However, the report added that Covid and cost of living crisis had sabotaged Ms Hall's hard work and a major contractor in the area who had used the pub for sub-contractor accommodation and services had closed down. Monthly turnover consequently fell by 70%, while subsequent efforts with food had then shown that "demand is simply not there".

WIth an extension to the rear, the existing pub would become two three-bedroom homes, while the terraced new houses, built adjacent and facing the street, would also each have the same capacity.

Berkeley Town Council has been asked to respond with views by May 1.

● In October last year, The Drinks Business reported that almost as many pubs shut across the UK in the first six months of 2023 as did throughout the entirety of the previous year. The data was supplied by real estate analysts Altus Group and showed that closure rates climbed to 77 per month, with Wales suffering the fastest rate of decline. In the wake of the spring budget, Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association warned: "This April, brewers and pubs still face a £450m cliff edge of spiralling wage costs and business rates increases, particularly those pubs that are larger or food-led."