Plans to turn former Monson Arms into Co-op shops and flats

A £2.5 million Lincolnshire Co-op ‘Neighbourhood Centre’ has been proposed for the site of a former Lincoln pub.

The plans to revamp the derelict site would see a food store, shops and apartments built off Skellingthorpe Road in Lincoln.

The land was formerly home to the Monson Arms pub, which has been closed since the beginning of 2016.

Subject to approval from the City of Lincoln Council’s planning committee, the old pub building would be demolished and a new 3,000 square foot Lincolnshire Co-op food store would be constructed alongside two smaller commercial units to let.

Above this would be 10 one and two bedroom rental apartments.

Plans also including a car park with 32 spaces for shoppers and 11 for residents.

The new outlet would replace the current Lincolnshire Co-op Swanpool Food Store on the other side of Skellingthorpe Road, and provide 50% more retail space.

Lincolnshire Co-op said jobs at the current Swanpool store would be transferred across with the addition of 10 more roles.

The society also plan to submit a full application soon for a residential development on the Swanpoool site.

Monson Arms on Skellingthorpe Road, Lincoln. Photo: Richard Croft

The Monson Arms, which had been a part of the community for more than 50 years, was previously source of controversy when plans were submitted for a new care home on the site.

Many local people petitioned to save the pub. The proposals were eventually refused by the City of Lincoln Council and the pub has stood empty for many years since.

Lincolnshire Co-op’s Store Development Manager Matthew Wilkinson said: “We have lots of loyal customers and members in that area of the city and we want to invest in developing the services we provide for them.

“The proposed larger outlet would be more accessible, have dedicated customer and residents’ parking and enable us to offer a wider range of products.

“This £2.5m scheme would see the shopping experience in our store vastly improved and make it easier for our hard-working colleagues to provide great service and choice.

“If the plans were approved, we believe we’d be making a positive impact on the local environment too, as we’d be bringing a brownfield site back into economic use.”

If the scheme to build the new neighbourhood centre is approved it would then be put out to tender to local construction firms.

It’s hoped work could start on the Skellingthorpe Road site at the beginning of 2019 with the new store opening by the end of the year.

The existing Lincolnshire Co-op food store would stay trading as normal throughout that period.

Lincolnshire Co-op plans to demolish the buildings on the existing Swanpool site in late 2019.

The society is in touch with its tenants about this and a separate outline planning application has been submitted to the City of Lincoln Council with Lincolnshire Co-op’s proposal for a development on the land.

If this application was approved, a residential development would be created. A full planning application with details of the residential accommodation would be submitted at a later stage.