Plans have been submitted to turn the former site of a lap-dancing pub in Buckinghamshire into shared housing.

The White Horse pub on West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe, closed on December 30, 2023, following the retirement of long-term licensee Alastair Watts after twenty years at the helm of the infamous strip club venue. 

Now, less than a month after its closure, the owner of the 100-year-old building, Streamdown Property Ltd, is seeking planning permission to change the pub into a 13-bedroom house of multiple occupation (HMO).

A similar application was proposed for the venue in August 2020 and was permitted by Buckinghamshire Council, although two subsequent applications for the demolition of the building and construction of a three-storey block of flats in its place were both rejected due to the proposed developments being "out of character" with the surrounding area. 

In an application submitted to the planning portal on January 10, Richard Clark, of Richard Clark Chartered Architects, stated the aim of the site's owner to reapply for the consent that was granted in 2020 and which consists of changing the official use of the premises rather than knocking it down.

Mr Clark wrote: "We have been instructed to apply for the change of use of this property to form a 13-bed HMO. 

"This form of development will provide much-needed accommodation and respect other similar uses within the vicinity."

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Objections to the 2020 proposal raised concerns about an over-concentration of HMOs in the area but a planning document containing the council's now-expired verdict stated that there was "no policy to limit the number of HMOs within an area" and judged the "principle of development" to be acceptable.

Speaking to the Free Press back in October, after the latest refusal of an application to demolish the former pub, Mr Watts, who is 78, expressed little hope that the building would remain standing for long.

He said: "This building is over 100 years old, and it has endless maintenance problems. It would need a complete refit and the landlord isn't interested in that.

"I think he will reapply for planning permission, maybe with a different architect, and if he doesn't get it, he'll just board it up." 

On December 30, regulars were invited to bid a final farewell to The White Horse, which hosted a range of music acts in its heyday including Kings of Leon's first UK gig back in 2003.

Punters described it as a "friendly, great place" with an "unfair image".