AN eyesore former pub next to a busy city route will be converted into flats despite concerns about ‘nightmare’ parking.

New proposals could see the dilapidated Crown and Anchor in Worcester’s Hylton Road revived as flats as part of plans by WXSPI.

Worcester City Council’s planning committee approved the work even after receiving several complaints from residents that building more flats on the former pub site would turn an already terrible parking situation worse.

Carol Hallett, who lives in nearby Henwick Road, told councillors that many residents were worried about extra flats being built without any space for cars.

Ms Hallett, who said the future of the pub site had been a long-running saga for more than 20 years, was however unsuccessful in her plea for councillors to reject the application.

“The community have eloquently and forcefully described the problems they have endured for many years and outlined multiple objections arising from this application,” she said at the planning committee meeting in the Guildhall on Thursday (June 22).

“We have no way of enforcing the ‘car-free’ expectation and will undoubtedly increase parking in an area already under intense pressure. We have suffered the blight of local rogue building over the last 20 years and the community is tired.”

St John’s councillor Richard Udall said he found the support from the county council’s highways department “confusing” and not providing parking would have an “unacceptable impact.”

Planning officers at the city council said it would be “difficult” to turn the plan down over parking fears around the former pub because of double yellows on both sides of Hylton Road preventing potentially disruptive on-street parking.

“The road is incredibly sensitive, and it is a main artery route in and out of the city centre,” Cllr Udall said. “Any obstruction there will create lengthy delays.”

His call to throw out the plan was not seconded by another councillor so the committee then voted on approving the work, which was won by six votes to two.

A plan to demolish the former pub to make way for a new three-to-four-storey building with six apartments was rejected by the city council more than a year ago.

Council planners approved a plan to convert the pub as part of plans to build six new flats in 2018 but the work was never carried out.