LOYAL punters are demanding a landmark pub on the A127 be saved, after fresh plans were submitted for it to be demolished.

The EG group, a conglomerate which owns filling stations, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, is set to bulldoze the Dick Turpin pub which sits just off the major road between Rayleigh and Wickford.

Plans have been submitted to replace the pub with a petrol filling station, a shop, a drive thru coffee shop, and 44 parking spaces.

The proposals were first submitted to Basildon Council in February, but were removed shortly after being submitted. This week, the plans have been made public again  Among the documents is a heritage assessment, prepared by Wardell Armstrong LLP on behalf of the EG Group, which states it has “limited heritage interest”.

This has infuriated loyal customers and bikers who have used the pub as a meeting point for years.

Adam Ball, 47, a regular at the pub, said: “It’s ridiculous to say the pub has no historical importance. We need the community to get together and save the pub and prove its value.

“For the people of the area and the regular customers, its of great importance to us.

“It’s like the Fortune of War pub; that pub has bee gone for over 20 years and everyone remembers the name.

“The name of the Dick Turpin will continue for many years with the people who loved it, which shows its value.”

The building is considered be a “non-designated” heritage asset by Basildon Council.

The public house was first built in 1927. Originally called The Harrows, the pub was later renamed as the Brighton Run before finally being given the name Dick Turpin.

As an interwar roadhouse, the pub was constructed to cater visitors travelling along the newly constructed Southend Arterial Road.

“The historic interest of the Dick Turpin public house is relatively limited, with its interest principally arising from its interwar origins as a roadhouse,” EG Group’s Heritage Assessment says.

However, the report did find the pub “potentially holds communal value due to its function as a public house, with this building-type allowing access and visitation by a wide variety of people.

“As such, the building is likely to feature in collective memories and experiences of people who have used the building.”