'Residential institution' planned for Dudley pub
An Black Country pub which closed its doors last year after 196 years could be turned into a 'residential institution' if plans submitted to the council are approved.
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Black Eye Property has applied to convert The Bush Inn at Buffery Road, Dudley, into a 13-bedroom property.
The application does not specify who will be living in the building, although the C2 classification the company is applying for relates to 'residential accommodation with elements of care being provided to people in need of it', and includes residential schools, colleges or training centres, care homes, children's homes, hospitals, and nursing homes.
The plans suggest that 10 bedrooms will be for residents, with two bedrooms in the basement for staff.
Day rooms and an activity room are also include in the plans, as well as office space.
The pub closed in April last year, after being sold to developers by previous owner Marston's in a sale which also included the former Crooked House.
For the previous 18 years The Bush had been run by tenant Andy Price and his wife Sue.
The pub first opened as The Holly Bush in 1828 and was demolished and rebuilt in 1905.
It was bought from John Rolinson & Son by the former Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries in 1925.
On his last night in charge, Mr Price spoke of his sadness at the decline in the pub trade.
"It was a very popular pub back in the day, but all pubs are struggling now – it is a dying trade," he said.
"I've got mixed emotions about closing. We were losing money, but I will miss all the friends I have made here," he added.
The Bush Inn, which had a 35-seater upstairs restaurant added in 2000, was among a number of pubs that Marston's put up for sale in March 2023, described as 'non-core properties'
The proposals will now be considered by Dudley Council's planning department.
