City centre pub gets green light for major revamp

In February it was revealed that the Dog House on St Georges Street had been taken over by Punch Pubs - the same team that transformed another of the city’s watering holes - The Wildman on Bedford Street.

At the time, the group stated it had plans for a significant overhaul of the pub, which is opposite St Andrew’s Hall, and went to Norwich City Council for permission to do just this the same month.

It submitted four separate planning applications to the council for different aspects of the refurbishment, all of which have now been agreed by planners at City Hall.

The refurbishments will include changes to the interior of the pub, a reconfiguration of its beer garden and the addition of permanent seating booths outside.

The plans also call for the pub to be completely repainted on the outside, with the current beige replaced with a grey and black facade, with dark teal doors and a new hanging sign.

Papers submitted with the original applications say the new look will “breathe new life into the public house, providing an improved space for visitors to the local area to enjoy”.

Speaking of the takeover in February, Punch’s chief executive officer, Clive Chesser, said: “We are pleased to welcome the Dog House into the Punch family and look forward to working together with our new publicans and their teams.”

Punch Pubs was behind a £130,000 refurbishment of The Wildman, which was carried out over the course of 2019 before it relaunched in September of that year.

The chain, which has its headquarters in Burton-upon-Trent, was also responsible for a £420,000 revamp of The King’s Head in Cromer and has 122 venues nationwide. Its Norfolk pubs include the Norkie in Bowthorpe, The Stanley Arms in Norwich and The Bull in Walsingham.

It had originally been hoped that the revamp would be complete for the summer, but with the application only approved this month meant this was not possible.

Punch Pubs was approached for comment.