A CRUMBLING former pub in a popular Clevedon street will be saved from ruin thanks to a deal between its owner and a prominent property developer.

Proposals are being put together to convert The Regent in Hill Road, which has for many years been a cause for concern among traders and residents, into retail units and apartments.

The pub has been left to fall into a severe state of disrepair, causing masonry to fall from its walls and the inside to become badly damaged due to many years of being left open to the elements.

However, the Victorian property could soon be returned to its former glory by the developers currently working to convert the Royal Pier Hotel at Clevedon’s seafront into luxury apartments, Bristol-based Freemantle Developments.

The company has struck a deal with Mark Hiscox, The Regent’s owner for more than six years, allowing Freemantle Developments to renovate the site.

They have been working on the scheme over the past year and are now commencing discussions with North Somerset Council and the Clevedon Civic Society about the plans for the site.

Freemantle Developments director Nick Warfield said: “Clevedon is a good area which we are very much committed to.

“We aim to have secured a viable planning permission within six to nine months. We would be able to then start work straight away to put the building back into use.

“We are working with the same design team as on the Royal Pier apartments scheme.”

If planning permission is granted, the proposals will see the pub, built in the 1870s, converted into two retail units with 18 one and two-bedroom apartments above. The car park at the rear would be used for residents’ parking

The apartments will be sold at a lower price than the 17 at the Royal Pier Hotel, which will be marketed as luxury properties, to ensure potential buyers have a varied price range to choose from in the area.

News The Regent could soon be repaired and renovated has been welcomed by town leaders who have been contacted by many concerned traders and residents about the state of the building over the past few years.

Clevedon town councillor Colin Hall said: “This is wonderful news, not only for Hill Road traders but the people of Clevedon.

“It has been an eyesore and a danger to all of us.

“I think the traders will be really delighted about it.”