A former pub in Newport which closed due to financial troubles during the pandemic could be demolished and turned into flats. The Ferns on Lliswerry Road could be knocked down and replaced with affordable flats and housing, according to new plans submitted to Newport City Council.
The pub was popular in the city and was open for more than 20 years before it shut for good during the pandemic in 2020. At the time a message shared by the pub's management said it was "no longer financially viable due to the high business overheads and zero income for several months resulting in huge losses.
"We as a business have tried everything we could to keep things going even to the point of taking losses and investing our own money," they said in a statement, adding that they had surrendered their lease back to the landlord and laid off staff. Since then the pub has been cleared out and boarded up but there has been little movement at the site since.
