One of Preston’s oldest pubs, which looked to have closed down for good, now seems set to reopen once a major restoration project is completed.
The Old Dog Inn, on Church Street, called time for the final time in July 2018 – and the rear of the Grade II-listed property has since partially collapsed after years of decay.
Previous plans to create a restaurant on the ground floor of the premises – and bedsits on the two upper levels – were withdrawn in 2023, although that vision was understood to remain the ultimate aim for the site.
Read more: Opinion: Preston’s major venue should be an ambitious and flexible space
In February last year, what was described as “immediate” remedial work to preserve and restore the largely early 19th-century structure was given the green light by Preston City Council – the finer details of which were approved in October.
However, a fresh application has now been lodged with the authority requesting permission for a renovation of similar scope – and buried within that blueprint is a long-term intention to welcome punters back to the historic hostelry.
Documents submitted to city planners on behalf of Preston-based Python Construction Limited state that the building “will be retained as a public house”, allowing for “its optimum viable use”.
The latest restoration proposal was submitted just days before the city council announced that “urgent repair works” had been carried out at the Old Dog Inn following enforcement activity by the local authority. Scaffolding is currently erected along at front of the building.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service approached the agent for the new renovation plan for further details about the ambition to reopen the pub, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
City centre ward councillor Salim Desai said he was unaware of moves to bring the boozer back into use, but welcomed the prospect.
“I’m pleased that there are plans for that part of Church Street, as it’s been run down and left to ruin since the Tithebarn era [the aborted late 2000s scheme to regenerate the wider area].
“I think developers have bought up buildings hoping to profit and have been left holding them – and the recent fires haven’t helped.
“Some of these buildings need to be removed and modernised, but there are a number of unique [properties] that have added to the character and history of Church Street – and the pub is one such building.
“It should be retained as it is and continue in its original use,” said Cllr Desai, who is also the cabinet member for service transformation at the city council.
The planning documents now being assessed by the authority set out a proposal for “the demolition and reinstatement” of part of the existing rear portion of the building, replacement of the current roof and windows and “refurbishment and repairs” at the front of the premises.
The proposal acknowledges that there would be a loss of “historic fabric” as a result of the work, but that any harm to the heritage of the building would be “less than substantial”.
It adds that the scheme would “revitalise an important heritage asset within the city centre of Preston by retaining and revealing its principal elements of significance” – and notes that the council is required to consider the “public benefits” of permitting the revamp. The authority has been asked for both planning permission and listed building consent for the works.
The scheme approved last year – in the name of Asjed Rafiq, a director of Python Construction Limited – pledged to “meticulously” restore the external elements of the building to preserve its “traditional character”.
An inn is first thought to have stood on the Old Dog plot as long ago as 1715, before being rebuilt in the early 1800s. The current frontage is believed to date back to 1898.
Early Methodist meetings are understood to have been held at the venue in its initial 18th-century incarnation – while the “Dog Inn” name dates back even further, from when a venue with the same moniker was based at another location in the city.
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