THE death knell could be about to sound for an 18th-century pub in East Lancashire which has seen various attempts to revive its fortunes in recent years.

Not only has the former Horse & Jockey, in Edenfield, served as the village’s Chinese restaurant but it has also been operated as the Italian eatery Anston’s, before becoming vacant.

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Demolition is now in prospect for the stone-built Market Street property, with Mark Skillin, of Haslingden-based Imperial Consultants, looking to construct 10 homes on the land left behind. The final decision rests with councillors next Tuesday.

Six of the houses will be three-bedroom, with the remainder four-bedroom. A mixture of detached, semi-detached and new-style terraces will form part of the overall masterplan.

Planning agent Mark Whitfield said: “The applicant has, for years, been marketing the site for reuse as a pub, bar and restaurant but without success. The existing building has no statutory or local listing and the site is not within a conservation area.”

But Paul Bradburn, of Edenfield Village Residents Association, said: “The proposal to demolish the former pub has been met with mixed feelings in the village. It is currently a mess and new houses will at least look better. However, we do not feel that the owners of the building have tried very hard to market it as a leisure facility.”

County highway engineers have requested £6,500 from the developer in order to upgrade a bus shelter in the area and pursue a traffic-regulation order to prevent on-street parking around the site entrance.

And the education department is lobbying for a contribution towards at least three extra school places, equating to just over £46,000.

Bat experts outlined evidence of a roost within the old pub building, and requested that a full method statement is drawn up on how specialists can provide mitigation measures.

Borough planning bosses have told councillors that the site, which straddles the urban part of Edenfield village and the greenbelt, had been proposed for housing as part of overall development proposals for Rossendale.

Historians say there is evidence the Horse & Jockey, though not built as an inn, developed from a house of 18th-century origin.