The owners of a new house which was once a pub in the centre of Warwick have applied for permission to remove the replica sign from the front, having been disturbed by hopeful punters looking to visit the closed inn.

The Zetland Arms on Church Street was turned into a six-bedroom townhouse after planning permission was granted in March 2022.

The pub was closed for two years before the scheme was approved, but a fresh application to Warwick District Council said some people still think it is open for business.

"Following the conversion of the building from the public house 'The Zetland Arms' back into a single dwelling residence in 2022, the modern metal bracket was retained on the frontage and a newly painted sign board was installed to replace the pub sign," the application explained. 

The sign on Zetland House (image by James Smith)

"This new sign is designed on the previous pub sign and includes a coat of arms, the house number 11 and a new name 'Zetland House'. 

"Since buying the house in 2022, the new owners have experienced regular disturbances from members of the public, particularly late at night, who are misled into believing that the house is still being used as a pub. 

"This issue is compounded by the retention of the signboard but also because the pub is still listed on various online rating websites, and other places online. 

"To mitigate these disturbances, the new owners have approached some organisations to remove the pub from their content. 

"However, the most impactful action to reduce the disturbance would be to remove the redundant signboard and bracket from the front elevation."

Signs at the pub over the years (image via planning application)

If approved, the application would allow the sign to be removed from the grade II listed building, as well as for the front door to be replaced and some minor alterations to the bathrooms.

The new owners say they would also like to install a commemorative plaque to ensure the history of the building is not forgotten.

"It is proposed to replace this modern house number with a new 'Heritage Plaque' which provides a permanent record of the history of the building and a link to a website with historic photographs and links to the Historic England listing description and other information," the application explained.

A number of notices of support have already been submitted.

See the full application here.