THE demolition of a Bradford pub made famous by acclaimed playwright Andrea Dunbar would be “the end of an era” according to a Councillor.

A planning application to demolish the Beacon Hotel in Buttershaw and build 18 houses in its place has just been submitted to Bradford Council.

The pub found fame thanks to the work of Andrea Dunbar, and features in key scenes of her modern classic Rita, Sue and Bob too, which was based on the Buttershaw estate and other areas of Bradford.

The play and 1987 movie were praised for shining a light on a section of British society usually ignored by the theatre.

It was also in the Beacon where Dunbar collapsed after suffering a brain haemorrhage in 1990 at the age of 29. She later died.

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Built in the late 60s, the pub has been empty since 2016, and is now boarded up and in a sorry looking state.

The planning applications by Burley in Wharfedale based Crag Developments says the site is now a target for vandalism and fly tipping, and says the 18 proposed homes would be built around a courtyard.

The application adds: “The pub was constructed in 1969 to a rather dated and largely unsuccessful formula favoured by Joshua Tetley & Son but not embraced by the public at large. By as early as 1987 the pub was described as being tired and run down.

“The Beacon endured some difficult trading times and finally succumbed to the inevitable in August 2016, since that time it has remained empty and subject to some vandalism. It has not been registered (or even promoted) as an Asset of Community Value and whereas the loss of any pub is regrettable, it is clearly not, and never was, a focus for sports teams, social groups, local societies, community meetings or other community activities.

“It is a fact that in some locations a pub is simply not viable and the owners, despite their best endeavours, have been reluctantly obliged to accept this fact.”

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Richard Dunbar is Andrea Dunbar’s nephew as well as being a Labour Councillor for Thornton and Allerton.

On the new application he said: “I think residents will be pleased considering the current state of the building, but I think it would be the end of an era.

“A lot of people view it as part of Bradford’s cultural fabric, it got that cultural status from Rita, Sue and Bob too.

“It will be very strange not to see it there.”

A decision on the application is expected in late May.