A 'landmark' pub in Eccles is due to be demolished to make way for housing.
The Unicorn in Liverpool Road, which closed in 2019, is set to be knocked down and replaced by a new residential development with 16 houses.
The Edwardian Tudor Revival style building dates back to 1895 – but a bid to protect the pub as an asset of community value was rejected late last year.
READ MORE: 'It was our best shot': Bid to save old Eccles pub from demolition turned down
Salford council approved an application to demolish the building at a meeting on Thursday (July 29) – but councillors said they were sad to see the pub go.
Speaking on behalf of the Wellington Pub Company, which owns the site, James Sturgess told the planning panel repairing the pub would have been costly and converting the building would not be feasible due to constraints.
He said: "It's regrettable that a number of factors have contributed to the Unicorn's decline including shifts generally in the pub market, caution in the economy even before the coronavirus pandemic, competition from nearby pubs - which is quite a lot in this case - and the availability of discounted alcohol in supermarkets."
The planning agent said there are 13 other pubs within 2km of the site and argued that losing this pub would not have an 'adverse impact' on locals.
He told councillors on the planning panel that the property has become a regular target for squatters and vandals since the pub closed two years ago.
Sturgess said the 'flagship' development will demonstrate the use of new energy efficient measures with zero-carbon hydro-fusion technology.
Weaste and Seedley councillor Philip Cusack described The Unicorn as a 'landmark building' – but he supported the demolition of the former pub.
He said: "I always lament the demise of a pub, particularly one that has an element of being iconic and individual about it. But I understand the commercial forces that mean we can't preserve all our pubs sadly."
However, Pendleton and Charlestown councillor John Warmisham, who is a member of the Campaign for Real Ale group, voted against the application.
He said: "I'm saddened that we are losing a pub that has always been a landmark within Peel Green, Eccles. We've lost too many in Salford.
"I just think the way that we're going, we're not going to have any landmark pubs left. It deeply, deeply saddens me.
"I understand that people's drinking habits have changed, but I still think the buildings have merit and the buildings could be saved."
The application to demolish the pub and build 16 homes was approved by the planning panel with all but three councillors voting in favour of the proposal.
The panel asked the developer to look at preserving architectural elements of value during the demolition and incorporate them in the new development.
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