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Plans to transform the outdoor yard at one of Coventry’s oldest buildings have been revealed. The proposals include turning a storage building into an outdoor kitchen and refurbishing run-down timber structures.

The scheme for Whitefriars Public House was lodged with Coventry City Council last month. The Grade II-listed building on Gosford Street dates back to the 1300s and was once part of the city’s Whitefriars monastery.

It was most recently used as a pub but has stood empty for several years. In 2019, plans were revealed to turn the building into a Chinese restaurant with a pub element by the owners of popular outlet Jimbo.

The couple planned to restore the Whitefriars building to its “former glory,” a council licensing meeting heard. Since then, plans to knock down the building’s “poor quality” 20th century addition and put in an extension have been approved.

But the building is still vacant, according to the latest scheme put forward in December 2023. A statement with the plans said the outdoor kitchen would be used to serve street food to patrons.

It revealed the beer garden’s timber canopies would be refurbished – with rotten timbers replaced – and new roofs put in to tackle water ingress issues. “The general appearance of the structures are well unmaintained and tired,” it added.

The statement claimed most of the works are to keep up the structures that are already there, which does not affect the old building or its surroundings. It added: “The Public House has been closed of recent years and it is in the interest of the current owner to open the Whitefriars so the business can continue to trade and support the local economy.”

The plans are listed under reference PL/2023/0002672/LBC on Coventry City Council’s planning portal, and expire in late February.