Councillors have been told that a completion date for developing The Oak site in Whitwick could be 'some years away'.

Last year, A bid to bulldoze a derelict former pub was put on hold by the North West Leicestershire District Council, which owns the site.

Demolition plans were released by the council last year, only to be withdrawn a month later.

The Talbot Street site has not been open to customers for more than a decade and has been described as a blight in the village.

The Oak has been slated to be torn down for years, with the land set to be redeveloped. The local authority revealed its ambition to tear it down and redevelop the land in 2021.

By that point, the derelict building had become a hot-spot for vandalism and antisocial behaviour.

Outline planning permission – meaning permission was given for the scheme in principle, with the full details to be set out and agreed later – for eight new affordable homes on the site was approved in October of the same year.

At Tuesday's meeting of NWLDC's full council, Whitwick councillor Peter Moult asked for an update on the site - and he also highlighted the fact that the area, in its current state, is attracting vermin, and there is overgrown foliage.

His question was: "I would like to know with regard to timescales when, if at all, The Oak public house at Whitwick is to be developed, given that it was purchased in 2021 and the costs of security, clearance and designs are increasing daily?"

Portfolio holder, Cllr Andrew Woodman, responded and said: "The site is within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) property portfolio and was purchased some time ago as a prospective development site. 

"The Housing Service's new build capacity has recently been increased through the use of external contractors to start to address outstanding sites. 

"The development opportunities for each site are currently being assessed. This particular site has an expired outline planning permission for a housing development and requires a detailed application to be developed in line with current social housing standards if it is to be taken forward for development. 

"A feasibility study is currently being commissioned. This means that it is likely to be some months before a revised planning application could come forward. The earliest anticipated date for completion is therefore likely to be some years away."

Cllr Woodman added: "I do accept the issues on this site and I will speak to officers about what we can do to sort out the vegetation nd obviously the rodent issue."