A PUB which was a Leamington Old Town institution is to disappear forever.
Warwick District Council’s planning committee has given the green light for the Talbot Inn to be converted into two flats.
The history of the Rushmore Street inn can be traced back as far as 1880, and for 30 years it was run by Leamington’s first West Indian landlord Hector Ashwood, and hosted an annual street party every August to mark Jamaican Independence Day.
The typical back-street boozer – tucked away among Victorian homes off Radford Road – even became affectionately known to most as “Hector’s” – having previously been known as Mickie’s while Mickie Fathers was landlord from 1919 to 1951.
But Mr Ashwood, and his wife Barbara, called time on his days at the Talbot in 2007 due to poor health, and it was taken over by Nick Ford, but after eight successful years, Mr Ford decided not to renew the lease, and the pub has been closed since the end of May.
The proposals to convert the building into flats have not gone down well with some neighbours who remain convinced the pub could be run as a viable business – something a report to the committee contradicted.
Concerns had also been raised at the loss of the large mural on the side of the pub but council chiefs say they have no say over its future as it does not require planning permission.
