Planning committee set to review demolition plans for Heswall pub
Plans to demolish Heswall’s historic Glegg Arms face a Wirral Council decision on October 7, as campaigners oppose Whitbread’s 24-room hotel expansion.
By Chester Standard
Wirral Council is due to decide on plans that would allow the demolition of the Glegg Arms in Heswall to make way for a larger hotel development.
The pub, which dates back to the 1840s, is on Chester Road in Heswall. It became a Beefeater restaurant before closing in 2024, and it now serves only hotel guests, according to the report.
The planning application has been submitted by Whitbread, which owns both Beefeater and Premier Inn. The proposals would replace the building with hotel rooms and increase the neighbouring Premier Inn’s room count by 24, from 87 to 111.
The application is set to be considered by Wirral Council’s planning committee on October 7. The item has been called in by local ward councillor Kathy Hodson, who has been campaigning with fellow ward councillors and the Heswall Society for the historic pub’s façade to be preserved.
A council report says more than 600 people have signed a petition urging refusal of the application over concerns that the façade would not be protected.
Whitbread has said it worked with Wirral Council’s planning and heritage teams over the past six months and explored whether the existing building could be converted and retained. It said structural and design constraints meant that was not possible, and that the revised plans were shaped through that engagement.
The company said the scheme would meet demand for hotel rooms in Heswall and support local jobs and investment in the area.
The council’s planning committee is due to discuss the application on October 7.