'There used to be pubs all over and now there’s not - it's another one gone'

People who live near a pub that looks set to be replaced have been speaking about the plans. Planning documents show that The Vine Inn in Handel Street, St Ann's, has been bought by developers who want to convert it into seven flats.

The developers, Dale Insurance Underwriting Services Limited (DIUS) in Nottingham, have bought the pub premises and outlined their vision for the site. Amber Yarland, aged 22, from Netherfield said it was disappointing to lose the pub . “One of my friends used to go there all the time with his dad and definitely has really fond memories of it,” she said.

“It’s nice they’re building flats for the area, but to be honest it’s gonna bum everyone out, they’re missing a pub. In neighbourhoods like this, pubs are where everyone go to meet up. It’s a little community, so they’re losing a community base. It’s such a shame, everyone’s going to miss it so much. It’s such a bummer.”

It is unclear when the pub was built but records show that in 1868, the Vine Inn was a fully licensed establishment under landlady Mrs M Bates. In the 1960s, it was run by the landlady Myra and her son, Alan, who are well remembered locally.

A plaque on the side of the building reveals that it has been an inn since 1876 and that Home Brewery bought the premises in 1896. The pub was once a former Home Ales pub which was one of Nottingham's biggest and most recognisable breweries.

Paul Dexter, aged 55, a Nottingham City Transport worker from Meadow Lane said: “It was a lovely local pub. It used to be vibrant down here.

“There used to be loads of pubs round here, and they used to call it ‘the bottoms’. The Vine was one of the places you used to just nip into. It was great.

“It was well loved by those who went in regularly. I never went in regularly, it was definitely a regular’s pub."

The pub closed around two months ago, with Mr Dexter saying it didn't come as a shock. “When it closed down I wasn’t surprised. Because of the way it was being run, it was being run down,” Paul said.

“They were serving cans behind the bar for starters, no beer. It was inevitable it was going to close. It could be so much better for places to drink round here. There used to be pubs all over and now there’s not. We’ve got the Wheatsheaf and that’s it.

“I couldn’t give a monkeys if they use it for housing. To be deadly honest I’m not bothered either way, it’s just another pub gone isn’t it."

Alex Chilton, aged 32, a recording engineer from Sheffield, said he was pleased the pub had shut down. “It was horrible. The people there weren’t very nice or welcoming.

“It wasn’t a local place where everyone loved it or anything like that. The pub was for the clientele that was going to die off at some point and no one was going to go in it ever again. It was definitely a regular’s pub, and I don’t know where those regulars will go now.

“I think there’s enough flats. Around here, it’s residential half and half, but more so domestic. There’s car garages, there’s a recording studio, and people moan enough about the noise already. Leave it as a working area, stop trying to build everything into flats that are built poorly.”

The application will now be dealt with by Nottingham City Council in the coming weeks.