DETAILED plans to demolish a Poole pub and replace it with more than 70 flats have been approved months on from a successful appeal for the principle of the development.

Earlier this month, council officers granted the reserved matters application for the site of The Sloop.

AJ Developments is planning to flatten the Commercial Road pub and build a block of 74 flats.

BCP Council’s planning committee refused the outline application for the scheme last year but the developer successfully challenged this decision with the Planning Inspectorate in September 2021.

Bournemouth Echo: The Sloop in Commercial Road, Poole and a CGI of AJ Developments' developmentThe Sloop in Commercial Road, Poole and a CGI of AJ Developments' development

The plans will see a block of four studio flats, 60 one-bedroom flats, nine two-bedroom flats and a three-bedroom flat with parking, cycle and refuse storage built on the site.

Concerns were raised over the loss of a “heritage asset”, the “bulk and overall density” of the proposed new build and “substandard living conditions”.

Regarding the heritage of the site, government-appointed planning inspector Helen O’Connor found the building had undergone “significant changes” over the years which she said “dilute the historic value of the building and make its role as part of the community much less legible”.

Conditions state the development must commence within two years and that planners must maintain a landscaping plan in the interest of “visual amenity”.

This will see the retention and protection of existing trees, new planting and plant storage as well as other site features such as walls, fencing and other means of enclosure.

The proposal was supported by the council’s arboricultural officer.

Bournemouth Echo: The Sloop pub in Poole has closedThe Sloop pub in Poole has closed

The team at The Sloop announced their final day of trading on Sunday, December 19, with a message of thanks to customers.

The social media post read: “We just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone that continued to support The Sloop over the years.

“We know that sometimes it has been rocky, and the pandemic was a complete curveball but this pub has been a feature in so many lives and we are so thankful we got to experience it all with you.”