Plans have been approved to open a brand new restaurant at a closed down pub along a busy Northampton road.

The former Spread Eagle pub in Wellingborough Road is set for a new lease of life after plans to convert it into a restaurant were approved this week.

The pub closed its doors for the final time in January after landlady Maria Carr stepped away due to rising running costs. The late-Victorian style pub has remained boarded up since then.

Plans to transform the building were first submitted in June and this week, on September 1, West Northamptonshire Council approved the application.

The picture submitted alongside the planning application to turn the Spread Eagle pub into a restaurant.

placeholder image — The picture submitted alongside the planning application to turn the Spread Eagle pub into a restaurant.

The site has been given the green-light to become a ‘fusion’ bar, grill and lounge called The Realm, operating daily from midday into the late evening. The plans also include a small rear extension. There is little other information within the application apart from these details.

Maria Carr, who ran the pub for five years, shared a heartfelt farewell when it closed. She said she wanted to thank staff and customers for making the pub a community hub.

She said: “I have been the proud landlady of the Spread Eagle Pub for the last five years, and starting Monday evening, our pub will be closing its doors for the final time… Thank you to all our customers who ventured through our doors and helped build some amazing memories. I will miss our pub community.”

Many customers responded with messages of support. One wrote: “You will all be missed. I have many happy memories over the years, been a customer since the mid-nineties. Wishing all the staff good fortune for your next ventures.”