Regulars devastated as new plans submitted to demolish Hinckley pub

Regulars at a traditional pub in Hinckley that could be knocked down have spoken of the devastating impact it would have on them.

Fresh plans have been filed with Hinckley and Boworth Borough Council to demolish The Prince of Wales Inn in Coventry Road and build a block of 12 single-bedroom apartments in its place.

A similar proposal was put in last year but councillors turned it down partly because the venue was deemed to be a ‘community facility’.

The applicant has contested that in the new application.

What the regulars say

Howard Parkin, 58, said he is a ‘newbie’ to the pub, having been a regular there for 11 years.

He works in the steel industry as a project manager and travels all around the world for jobs, but he and his wife go to the Prince several times a week when he is in town.

His drink of choice is Guinness or a gin.

“It’s a lovely little place. It’s such a shame that they want to knock it down, it’s part of our community,” he said.

“Most of the work we have done at home is by people from the pub. There is every trade represented in there, and they are willing to help each other.

“It’s an ideal pub for us and we have lost so many of them.

"When we moved to Hinckley, we went to The Railway but it’s lost what it was.

“We still need some ‘pub’ pubs - the Prince is one of the final ones.”

What the council says

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council said in its decision notice for the original plans: “The proposed development would result in the loss of the community facility without sufficient justification and would reduce the community’s ability to meet its day-to-day needs leading to an adverse impact on the vitality and sustainability of the community.”

The applicant has dismissed this claim as “hysterical”, pointing out that there are other pubs nearby, but regulars at the Prince say that those venues are not traditional drinkers pubs.

The nearest pub to the Prince is The White Bear, less than a minute’s walk along Coventry Road.

Howard said: “It would kill us all. Last Friday night, it was the total subject of conversation. If everyone says what it means to them, it’s got to help.”

The Prince raised £3,000 during its St George’s Day celebrations this year for Edgar’s Gift, which provides special days out and other gifts for young people with cancer.

Gavin Gilchrist, 63, has lived in the area for 40 years and has been a regular at the Prince for some 16 years. His brother used to run the pub.

He said: “It’s still a functioning pub, it’s a purpose-built public house. If you look at the outside it’s an attractive building.

“If you want to meet someone, you know who’s going to be here at what time.”

The pub had a recent surge in trade when the neighbouring Lidl store was being built, when some of the workers on the site would come over for a pint after clocking off.