A DEVELOPER has left a Sidcup resident "disgusted" by plans to alter the façade of a former pub.

The 300-year-old Black Horse pub in the High Street was demolished in 2011 to make way for an 84-bedroom Travelodge.

Planning permission was granted on the condition Hillingdon Developments build a new facade reflecting the pub as it was in 1897.

But Bexley Council slapped an enforcement notice on the company in December to force it to build the planned pastiche because the structure it put up bore little resemblance to the former listed building.

Hillingdon has now put in a new planning application to "reconfigure" the structure as the company has been unable to rent out the retail space behind it.

Rinka Halliday used to be a barmaid at the Black Horse and claims the move is what she expected.

The 68-year-old, who can see the structure from her home, said: "Everyone is disgusted about it; we are so disheartened.

"We knew this is what they were heading for in the first place.

"People just get beaten down."

The scheme would remove two bay windows and entrance doors and insert three aluminium shop-fronts without apparently altering the upper section of the façade.

A letter from property agents Acorn to Hillingdon said: "Although it was a nice idea to retain the façade, it is not what modern operators want.

"The small windows do not allow much light into the unit making it extremely dark and operators want window space."

View the applications at pa.bexley.gov.uk

Anyone wishing to comment on the application should write to Mr C Westwood, Environment and Wellbeing, Bexley Civic Offices, Broadway, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 76LB, ring 020 8303 7777 or e-mail Chris.Westwood@bexley.gov.uk by April 25.

History of the Black Horse

• Opened as the Black Horse Inn in 1705.

• Re-branded as the Blue Rose in 2002 after developing a reputation for rowdiness and drink-related violence.

• Awarded the status of a listed building by Bexley Council in 2004.

• Closed in 2007 after the council threatened to remove its license following a series of violent incidents.

• Approved for demolition and rebuilding as a Travelodge in 2011.