Bulldozers flatten Wolverhampton pub to make way for Tesco
A derelict pub in Wolverhampton has been flattened to make way for a Tesco convenience store.
The site of the old Hustler pub, in Willenhall Road, in Bilston, will be transformed by the supermarket giant and will open early next year.
The Tesco Express will create 20 new jobs and bosses said they would look to employ residents from the area where possible.
Tesco spokesman Simon Petar said: "Our Express stores are very popular with the local community and customers.
"This will be a great addition to the local area and we look forward to opening our doors in due course."
The building has been vacant since 2004 when the pub closed.
In recent years it has become an eyesore with a security fence on the site being broken, large parts of the roof missing, litter building up and the site becoming a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
Plans to build a convenience store on the site were approved by Wolverhampton City Council's planning committee two years ago despite three letters of objection and a petition with 1,284 signatures from residents.
But demolition has only taken place over the last few days.
Mr Petar added: "It's better to get it right rather than rushed. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to ensure the community gets the right store."
Despite the initial objections, residents living near the site were happy something was finally going to be done about it.
Janet Meakin, of Clarence Road, said: "I think the shop will bring a lot more traffic but anything has to be better than what's there now."
Another Clarence Road resident Lisa Willis, aged 38, said: "It's disgusting really, what it has been looking like. It's good to hear something is finally going to happen."
Earlier this year the store was granted permission to open from 7am until 11pm Mondays to Saturdays and from 8am until 11pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
Delivery times will be between 8am and 6pm on Mondays until Saturdays and from 9am until 6pm on Sundays and bank holidays with newspaper deliveries allowed on Sundays before 9am as long as it takes no more than 15 minutes.
