A former village pub is set to be demolished and turned into new homes after council approval – but the authority’s leader fears the area will continue to lose more of its community facilities.
In March 2025, proposals were submitted to Broxtowe Borough Council to demolish The Gardeners Inn on Awsworth Lane, Cossall, and replace the site with five new modern detached homes.
The former pub closed in 2022, and previous plans to use the site for five homes were rejected by the authority in December of that year.
Applicant NG9 Developments’ appeal against this decision was denied by the government’s Planning Inspectorate in early 2024, as the potential loss of the “valued community facility” was not justified, giving former patrons a chance to buy the site.
After lobby group Friends of the Gardeners’ unsuccessful attempt to raise the money needed to buy the pub, the developer made its third attempt to demolish the building – valued at £350,000 – to build five new homes. This was approved by the council on 3 December 2025.
Planning documents state that the loss of the former pub does not “add to any decline in community services”, with “no desire” for the building to be purchased for community use, noting two pubs within a 15-minute walk – The Gate Inn and The Crown Inn.
Andrew Ludlow, secretary of Nottingham CAMRA, called traditional pubs an “endangered species”.
He said: “There are higher energy costs, no relief on rates, and minimum wage and National Insurance are going up.
“The ‘use it or lose it’ – too often people are upset they’ve lost their community facility, but don’t realise they can only survive if they visit regularly. Our concern isn’t just the loss of a real ale option, but pubs are often the last community facility in an area.
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“Sadly, over recent years, any pub that has a decent car park or garden is now viewed by developers as potential provision for a mini housing estate – those are the ones in danger. Pubs in a town centre have a better chance of survival.”
Council leader Milan Radulovic (Brox Alliance) said he fears Broxtowe will continue losing more traditional pubs.
He said: “There are no new things on the horizon. They’re being replaced by micropubs, which are privately owned, bought much cheaper, and hire their own staff. That’s the biggest issue.
“More and more pubs will be forced to close because they’re simply not viable or economic due to cost pressures – not just from breweries but from the government and the cost of living.”
Over the past few years, the property has suffered vandalism to the point of “structural concern”, according to the plans, with perpetrators ripping out the water tanks and flooding the building.
Documents say: “The police have been called out on many occasions due to vandalism and break-ins.”
