Wetherspoons pub applies to extend premises

A town centre pub could expand into a vacant bank unit next door if plans are approved.

An application to expand the Myrtle Grove, a J D Wetherspoon pub on Bingley's Main Street, has been submitted to Bradford Council.

The proposals would see the pub expand into the neighbouring NatWest Bank site, which has been vacant since 2017 and is currently shuttered.

If approved, the former bank floor would become an extended customer area for the pub, with its safe converted into a seating area.

The ex-bank's rear servicing area would become a beer garden, with staff areas and a new female toilet located on the first floor.

Similar plans were approved in 2020 by the council, just weeks before the Covid-19 national lockdown, but the works were never carried out.

The application stated the expansion would have "a minimal impact on the local area" and "improve the visual appearance of the neighbouring building".

The creation of a pavement area to the front of the site would "also improve the street scene", it added.

The pub building was constructed in 1921 as the Myrtle Cinema, before it closed in 1964, later becoming a supermarket.

J D Wetherspoon purchased the site and opened the Myrtle Grove in 2000.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a decision on the application is expected in November.

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