The fate of a village pub whose future has been debated by numerous planning consultations looks to be finally decided.
The First and Last in Ormesby has been shut for a decade, suffered a devastating arson attack, and stared down the wrecking ball.
An early bid to knock it down and build a terrace of 10 homes was shut down along with a more recent one to replace it with commercial units and flats above.
Planners at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, however, say the latest attempt to convert the pub building and add four homes can be allowed.
First submitted two years ago and since revised several times it seeks to convert the pub into a single home and add two detached houses and a pair of semi-detached homes to the plot.
The plan has drawn 47 public comments ranging from parking, to overlooking, to blurring the boundary gap between Ormesby and Caister.
A committee report prepared by officers comes down on the side of saying yes to the scheme, acknowledging the decision is "finely balanced".
On the plus side the papers welcome the re-use of the pub building in a prominent location which involves removing "unsympathetic extensions that detract from its character".
On the down side the new homes are "well outside" development boundaries, but could be considered as "infill" and good use of a brownfield site where the pub to home conversion was previously approved in 2017.
The report includes a submission from the applicant blaming the closure of Pontins in Hemsby for the pub's demise.
It says: "The lack of trade has been evident by the failure of the last two tenants who sadly each ran into financial difficulty and bankruptcy.
"The property has been actively marketed since 2012 but no suitable tenants have been found in this time."
In December 2019 it suffered a serious fire.
Overall officers recommend approving the redevelopment insisting the pub extensions are removed before any building work takes place and that the new homes can only be occupied when the former pub has been converted and made available for residents.
The council's development control committee meets on Wednesday, October 5, at 6pm to discuss the plan.
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