New Wetherspoons pub plan approved for Merseyside

The plan represents a £2.2m investment in the town

Plans for new Merseyside Wetherspoons with 50 new jobs created

JD Wetherspoon is set to open a new pub in our region in a move which will create 50 jobs.

The franchise will take over the site formerly occupied by The Exchange bar at 1-5 The Mount, in Heswall, Wirral, after its plan was approved by Wirral Council’s planning committee last night.

The plan represents a £2.2m investment in the town and is set to create 50 jobs.

Under the plans, an extended kitchen will be built to cater for increased demand replacing the beer garden at the back of the site.

However, the size of the beer garden at the front of the site will be increased.

It will also be made more attractive, with raised flower beds, a timber canopy and seating, with the whole area paved. The aim being to increase vegetation on the site.

Overall, the new pub will be a lot bigger than its predecessor.

The ground floor area is currently 300 square metres, but this will increase to 579 square metres, with 205 square metres for the new customer area and 74 square metres for the new kitchen.

The current license will enable the new pub to open between 9am and 11.30pm, but JD Wetherspoon spokesperson Eddie Gershon said the pub chain will go back to Wirral Council to ask for a later license.

Due to this and the fact that all Wetherspoons developments are currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is not certain when the new pub will open.

There were 23 letters of objection from locals to this plan.

Their main concerns were around noise and parking.

One example given was people being disturbed by patrons leaving the premises of the former pub while intoxicated and loud, and waking residents from their sleep.

Another was people parking inconsiderately across driveways and returning to their vehicles shouting to each other and slamming car doors at unreasonable hours.

However, planning documents show the site is located within a town centre and the nearest residential property is 30 metres away from the pub.

Cllr Kathy Hodson, who represents Heswall for the Conservatives, said many patrons would walk to the pub.

She added: “I think it would be quite a welcome addition to the town centre.

“It’s a little bit of an eyesore at the moment because it’s closed.

“Where the extension’s going to be at the side and the back is a bit tatty at the moment, so that can only be an improvement.”

Mr Gershon said: “We are delighted that planning permission has been granted for a Wetherspoon pub in Heswall.

“We have enjoyed great success in the region and are confident that the new pub will prove popular.

“Hopefully it will also act as a catalyst for further investment in the area.

“At present all new Wetherspoon developments have been put on hold, so we can not give a date when work will start on the pub.”