Green light given to Co-op plan for former village pub

The East of England Co-op applied to Broadland Council for permission to demolish the former Brickmaker's pub on Holt Road in Horsford earlier this year.

Under the plans, the pub, which closed in January 2018, would be knocked down to make way for a new development on the site.

The former Brickmakers pub in Horsford, pictured in 2009 (Image: Bill Smith)

This development would see an East of England Co-op supermarket built, alongside a new café and a butcher shop - and would leave the Dog Inn as Horsford's only boozer.

The site will also include 28 car parking space, with Keeler's Butchers relocating from its existing site on Holt Road into a separate building on the plot.

A spokesperson for East of England Co-op said: "We're proud to have been a part of the Horsford community for many years and are looking forward to enhancing the services we're able to provide to the local community.

"All our colleagues will transfer to the new, larger, purpose-built store and we'll look to repurpose our current store, with a number of options to be explored."

The village's existing store is also on Holt Road, close to the junction with Corner Lane, while the former pub sits on the corner of the Mill Lane turn-off.

The spokesperson said construction is planned to begin in early 2022 and building work is expected to last approximately nine months.

It is then hoped the new store will open towards the end of 2022.

In approving the application, case officer Julie Fox wrote: "While the loss of the former public house is regrettable, on balance it is considered that the benefits of the proposed development would outweigh any harm caused."

The pub dates back to the mid 19th Century, according to the Norfolk Pubs website, first licensed under the name of The Cock in 1861.

In its history, spanning almost 150 years, it was also known as the Blacksmiths Arms, Brambles and finally The Brickmakers and Country Boy Restaurant, before its closure in 2018.