An application has been lodged to demolish property including a former public house on Portswood Road, which could eventually become student housing.

 

The application is to demolish numbers 264 and 266 on the southern side of Portswood Road at its junction with Osborne Road North.

Part of the site housed the Waggoners Arms, which closed for business in April 2018. It’s understood the next door building had been derelict for some time.

Waggoners Arms already boarded, photographed in May 2018

As the site includes a former public house, it’s understood full planning permission for demolition is required following changes in legislation designed to offer more protection to pubs.

The pub is “in a state of significant disrepair, with restoration costs deemed financially unviable”, according to application documents, which add that it hasn’t been listed as an asset of community value.

Photographed in April 2025

Part of the site also includes what was the Burts Furnishing premises, comprising a shop onto the street and a factory at the rear.

A pre-application was submitted in February to demolish the site and create student accommodation – around 83 bedrooms, according to the applicant’s agent.

There’s a photo of the Waggoners Arms when it was still operating on the Lost Pubs Project website. 

Photographed in April 2025

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) also incudes photos, and says the Waggoners was “What we used to call a basic boozer”.

It says the pub dated from the early 19th century, and was “one of just two survivors from all the pubs that used to be on this stretch of Portswood Road”. More here.