Three Norfolk pubs that served punters in two coastal towns have been lost after plans to revamp them were approved.
The premises in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston are one of 80 pubs that are vanishing each month nationwide as the industry grapples with falling customer numbers and higher running costs.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council development committee members approved the three schemes, which will see the venues transformed.
The new owners of the Tramway in Gorleston have been successful in their bid to turn the pub into an Indian restaurant, using the name, the Indian Food Club.
It will also offer takeaways from the venue.
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In Great Yarmouth, the Great Eastern in Nelson Road Central will be turned into a block of four one-bed flats.
While the former Winners pub in South Beach Parade will be turned into three holiday lets and warehouse space.
VANISHING PUBS
There are rules that can prevent pubs from being closed if they are considered a valued community asset.
However, in this instance, the loss of all three of the pubs was deemed acceptable as the communities surrounding them would still be well-served by other venues.
The Great Eastern for example has a pub directly opposite it - the Albion.
The three venues are part of a growing number of closed pubs in the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston area that have shut in recent years.
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Nationally, government figures this year have shown about 80 pubs a month are vanishing across the country, with nearly 500 calling last orders between April 2023 and March 2024.
Other well-known pubs that have been lost in the area include the Iron Duke, which is being restored by the team behind Zak's - a chain of American-themed restaurants in Norfolk.
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GREAT EASTERN
The Great Eastern in Nelson Road Central is well-known in the town due to its traditional façade with colourful wooden panelling.
It is thought to have been built in 1870 and was in business for more than 150 years, later becoming known as 'the party pub', until it shut in February this year.
The owners blamed electrical issues for closing its doors.
In the nearby villages of Belton and Caister, two pubs have recently announced they are closing.
The King's Arms in Caister blamed rising costs while the King's Head in Belton also said the business was no longer financially viable.
TRAMWAY
The Tramway in Lowestoft Road - named after the horse-drawn tramway that linked Yarmouth to its southern neighbour - had been visited by customers since it opened in 1875.
Sixty years later the route closed but its legacy lives on through the pub.
In 2021, the pub was stripped of its 4am licence after video evidence backed up complaints from neighbours of late night noise and revelry spilling out onto the streets.
THE WINNERS
The Winners in South Beach Parade in Great Yarmouth was known as a lively sports bar in its later years.
The building is believed to have been built in the 1930s and is located in a prime spot close to the seafront on the southern end of the Golden Mile.
Inside, the pub had a traditional wood-panelled bar area.
The Winners was a victim of the recession in 2008 and a year later it shut its doors due to struggling financially.
In March 2022, it was sold at auction for a price in the region of £400,000.
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