Derbyshire Pub, Black Swan Near Belper, Could Become a Private Home

A very old pub might become a house. It is called the Black Swan, and it is near Belper, in Derbyshire. This pub closed down last year because it was losing too much money. Tim Tomlinson wants to change it, turning the pub into a home, and the car park would become a garden.

The pub is quite old; it is a Grade-II listed building, constructed in the early 1800s. The council will decide soon if the building can become a house. The old owners tried to sell it for eight years but could not sell it as a working pub.

The kitchen was removed previously when someone wanted to make it a house. This made the locals very unhappy. Tim Tomlinson bought it in 2017, after the pub had been shut for a year. He put the kitchen back and also fixed the pub up a lot.

There were problems with the customers; some wanted to eat there, while others wanted to drink. They did not mix well together, and the place needed a new design to fix this. This new design required a separate drinking area.

The council did not allow the redesign, leading to the closure, according to a document. The pub had three main types of customers: those who liked the fancy food (often older), those who liked the beer and sports (often local workers), and walkers and tourists.

All these groups made the pub work well when they attended, but the dining customers complained often. Everyone used the same main entrance, and the dining area was open to the bar. Diners felt bothered by the drinkers.

Drinkers in work clothes intimidated them, and they smoked outside near the entrance. TVs showing sports bothered the dining customers. The current building could not solve this problem, so the plan was to build a new drinking area.

This “snug” area would have its own entrance, smoking area, and sports TVs. Drinkers would have had their own space, separate from the dining area. The council rejected this plan; subsequently, the pub lost too much money and shut down in March 2024.