By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter
City council planners have approved proposals to convert Pre-Bar – for many years known as The New Inn in Bevois Valley, a pub said to date back to at least the early 1870s - into flats.
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Developers said Pre-Bar was not viable as a business for multiple reasons, including changing demographics, consumer tastes and financial sustainability.
Applicant Collingwood Investments Ltd submitted plans to change the use of the ground floor into a two-bed flat and studio apartment.
A planning statement in support of the application said:
“The Pre-Bar is a relatively small set of premises operating as a ‘wet trade’, that is solely reliant on sales of drink.
“The main focus has been a relatively young student market.
“Until the Covid pandemic the premises at weekends operated taking full benefit of its late licence.
“Various attempts to maintain the viability of the pub have been considered or tried, including karaoke nights, private functions for sports clubs and reducing the hours.
“The reduction in hours has been undertaken so that the premises can be managed by the landlord with part-time staff, thereby reducing the operating costs and allowing a focus on the most profitable opening times.
“However, these have not proved adequate to provide a viable and sustainable business model.”
The statement said factors affecting Pre-Bar included family outings for meals becoming more popular than visiting pubs, young people drinking less alcohol, a decline in university students, a shift in the character of universities, a change in ethnic make-up of the area and a growth of alcohol sales in supermarkets against a decline in wet trade for pubs.
The application was approved by Southampton City Council planning officers under delegated powers.
A report outlining the decision said: “The principle of new residential development is considered acceptable.
“It is acknowledged that the proposal would make a contribution to the council’s five-year housing land supply.
“There would also be social and economic benefits resulting from the construction of the new dwellings, and their subsequent occupation.”
Before becoming the Pre bar, it was The Usual Suspects and The Inferno, according to the Bevois Mount History group’s website, where you can read more about the pub’s past.
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