The owners of a new house in the centre of Warwick which was once a pub have been given planning permission to remove the replica sign from the front as they hope to stop would-be customers knocking on their door.

Now a six-bedroom townhouse, the Zetland Arms on Church Street has been closed since 2020 but is still listed as open for business on various websites.

The new owners have since had punters regularly knocking on the door or trying to get in for a late drink.

But now Warwick District Council has granted permission for the fake pub signs to be removed.

"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 planning 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)

The application will also allow for the front door to be replaced and some minor alterations to the bathrooms at the grade II listed building.

The new owners originally said they wanted to install a commemorative plaque to ensure the history of the building is not forgotten.

However, after discussions with the council this was removed from the application as it would "constitute visual clutter" and there is enough information about the building's history online.

Seven notices of support were also submitted to the application by members of the public.

Signing off on the application, a council report said: "The existing features date from the twenty-first century and are not considered to replicate a historic feature, nor to be located in the same position as former twentieth century signage.

"It is considered that the historic narrative of the heritage asset as a former public house, believed to have been converted in the 1920's, remains evident from the curved bay window to the frontage and that there will be no loss of historic fabric from the works.

"It is also acknowledged that the retention of the sign also causes confusion to members of the public who believe the residence to continue to be a public house.

"It is considered that the overall impact of the removal of this modern feature will not result in a detrimental impact to the character and significance of the heritage asset."

See the full application here.