Developers of an historic Birmingham pub have defended their work after it was put up for sale.
The Grade II*-listed Red Lion building, in Soho, Road, Handsworth, is set to go under the hammer this week after city firm DR Developments called time on plans to redevelop it.
Concerns about the state of the building – one of the most protected in Birmingham – were raised this week after the Post reported it was going back on the market. Birmingham City Council has now pledged to examine the work that has taken place in the pub.
The pub, built in 1901, is listed due to a range of ornate features including its cream, green, blue and gold Minton wall tiles, a smoke room with a panel of etched and gilded glass, and a gilded mahogany bar.
However, after suffering with dry rot and major structural issues in recent years, it had fallen into disrepair and DR Developments director Raj Lal said a lot of work had been put into making it viable for development.
He said: “The building was falling to pieces when we bought it. There were structural issues and we have had to reinforce the roof and lots more.
“We have done all the headache parts and now the building is in a place where it can be brought back to use. The second floor had been left for years and had become a pigeon house and we have had to deal with all of that.
“The council has been aware of the work we have done and signed it off.”
Mr Lal said dry rot problems meant structural beams had to be replaced in the pub.
Work had also been disrupted by several break-ins.
The three-storey building covers a total of 4,251 sq ft and planning permission was granted in 2012 for the demolition of outbuildings and exterior toilet blocks and the erection of single-storey rear extension to convert it into a restaurant.
The pub is now one of the lots being offered by CPBigwood at an auction on October 23 with a guide price of £245,000 but has also been marketed by Mason Young, which is representing the private owner for £400,000.
Mr Lal said he had opted to sell it to focus on another heritage development – Astle House in West Bromwich. He added: “I wanted to restore this building. It was something I was passionate about, but I have had to move on to other things.
“But everything on the ground floor is still there, like the Minton tiles, and we haven’t cut any corners.”
Ex-Birmingham councillor Martin Mullaney, a former cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, was among those to contact the Post to outline concerns over the pub.
He had pushed for the building to be given Grade II*-listed status – the same as St Augustine’s Church in Edgbaston and Aquinas House in the Jewellery Quarter – which was granted in the mid-1990s.
