A wrecking ball might soon be taken to a derelict Helsby pub.

The saga of the Horse and Jockey on Chester Road has been running for almost a decade.

Not for the first time, a developer now plans to demolish the pub and replace it with 15 new homes.

Further down the A56 another former pub has recently been transformed.

The site of the Robin Hood Hotel has regenerated into 13 properties, but not all have been sold.

A lack of progress with both sites, which had been left empty and were seen as ‘eyesores’, had long been the bane of Helsby residents.

The boarded-up Horse and Jockey pub in Helsby
Parish councillors Chris Ellams and Terry O'Neill outside the boarded-up Horse and Jockey pub in Helsby

The Horse and Jockey has not served a pint since 2008.

Helsby parish councillor Chris Ellams said he was pleased the site may finally be developed.

He said: “It’s one of the first major buildings you see when you come into Helsby and it’s an eyesore really.

“The new plan has been with some relief really and I think the residents will agree.

“It will be sad to see it go, but it’s just the world we live in these days with pubs closing all the time.

“I think the Horse and Jockey and the Robin Hood were the too biggest bugbears in the village, so hopefully we can soon them off when they are sorted.”

Watch Cllr Ellams speak to The Chronicle about the Horse and Jockey in 2014 below:

Video Loading

Helsby Parish Council are holding a public consultation on the new proposal at St Paul’s church at midday on Saturday (September 10).

The application has been submitted by Eden Building Design on behalf of Manchester-based Great Places Housing Group.

The new plan will be made up of a mix of two, three and four bedroom semi-detached and terraced houses.

Each of the properties will get two parking spaces. They will be accessed by a new road leading off the A56.

An Eden design statement said: “We have been in dialogue with the planning officer over the past 12 months to explore a variety of options for the scheme.

“We have also consulted with the local ward councillor to gain their support.”

The former Horse and Jockey pub on the A56, Chester Road in Helsby

The new homes will feature red brick walls and grey concrete roofs. Similar to older buildings in the area there will also be buff-coloured stone

Eden added the design sought to ‘understand and interpret the character of the surrounding area, while creating a sense of place and an identity of its own’.

What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments below.