Osborne View set for £6.5million rebuild to create pub the community will be proud of
A much-loved pub which was destroyed in a devastating fire is set for a £6.5million replacement, with the first steps being taken to bring this about.
Plans for a replacement for the The Osborne View in Hill Head are in the process of being submitted to Fareham Borough Council by parent company Hall & Woodhouse after what it said was an ‘easy decision’ to make to rebuild.
It comes after the popular pub caught fire in February as a result of an electrical fault in a tumble dryer which left the local community devastated.
The new venue will be one single building of four storeys high, with a beach bar on the lowest level, restaurant above, and a bar above that at the road level. The top floor would be reserved for staff accommodation. The beach and road levels would both boast terraces and if approved it is hoped the building work, which would take around 12 months to complete, will begin next summer.
Glass, shingle and wood are among the materials proposed to be used in the build which will have a smaller footprint than the previous pub which had consisted of a variety of buildings of different sizes. This is because the site had evolved over the pub’s existence, including when it was once a hotel.
The brewery said the venue’s sustainability and access would be key, with access via the beach being maintained and increasing the number of cycle racks in the carpark. It will also utilise glass to make the most of the stunning views across the Solent towards the Isle of Wight, with the site facing Osborne House where it takes its name and retain the ‘cosiness’ of the pub.
The news allays local fears the site would be lost to housing with property director Mark James saying that, despite approaches to sell the site, the brewery was always committed to building a replacement which the community will be proud of.
“It was an easy decision to make for us to take to rebuild it,” he told The News. “We want to build something that we can continue to be proud of for the next 100 years.”
Much of the cost of the rebuild will come from insurance money, however the brewery is also adding to that to make sure it brings about a stunning replacement which is fit for the area.
Details of how the garden, previously lined with blue benches, will look are still being drawn up. However it is intended that the landscaping will link the beach to the new-look pub.