PLANS to turn a pub into flats have been approved by planning officers, despite calls for the building to remain a pub.

The Albion Inn, on New Line Road, Greengates, closed in January with the then-landlords citing changing drinking habits post-pandemic.

A planning application to convert the property into four flats was submitted by K Leach in early Spring, and that application has now been approved by Bradford Council.

The application said a mix of the pandemic and rising energy prices meant the pub was “no longer able to cover the costs of its operation.”

Three people had objected to the plans, calling for the pub to be sold to another operator, brewery, or to be taken over by the community and run as a community hub.

One said Bradford had already lost too many pubs.

Referring to objectors calls for the Albion to be sold to someone who would keep it open as a pub, planning officers said: “The Local Planning Authority have no control over who owns and buys properties.”

The building is over 200 years old, and was initially built as two cottages. It was converted into a pub over a century ago.