BIKERS are toasting victory after plans to demolish a 100-year-old pub on the A127 and replace it with a petrol station were thrown out.

Under plans submitted to Basildon Council, the Dick Turpin Pub, on the A127 in Wickford, would have been razed to the ground and replaced with the petrol station as well as a drive-through coffee shop.

However, the plans have been met with criticism since they were submitted last year with bikers, who have used the pub as a meeting point for decades, insisting the pub should remain open.

Now, Basildon Council has rejected the application due to the potential loss of a “non-designated heritage asset”.

Adam Ball, chairman of Southend Shakedown Association, was over the moon.

He said: “A big thank you to Basildon Council.

“Now let’s hope we can keep the Dick Turpin as it is and not see anything else happen to it.

“It has been a central meeting point for decades for bikers all over the place. When I have been up there, bikers come down from all of Essex, London, and beyond.

“It is also a focal point for people going into Southend.

“It is really important we protect it as it has got a lot of history.”

The pub, which dates back almost 100-years, has proved popular but according to the proposals it has been “running at a loss for three years” after being significantly impacted by the Covid pandemic.

The planning statement stated, “it is only a matter of time” until the pub closes, but a new petrol station would create 40 new jobs and “bring a number of benefits”.

However, the Basildon Council officers’ report described the pub as a “landmark”.

They stated: “The proposed demolition of the existing building, which is a landmark in the area, would cause adverse harm.

“The proposed development by reason of the demolition of the existing building would result in the highest level of harm a non-designated heritage asset.

“The design of the proposed replacement buildings are not of any particular merit and would not reinstate any architectural or heritage value to the site.”