Last orders are looming for a well-known pub in Leeds city centre.
The Vine, which played host to early gigs by the likes of Arctic Monkeys and The Cribs, has stood vacant since March this year.
Now hopes that it could eventually get back in business as a pub seem to be fading.
Bookmaker Paddy Power has submitted an application for planning permission to turn the Headrow-based venue’s ground floor into a betting shop, it was confirmed today.
A spokesman for the firm said that, if the application was successful, around £250,000 would be spent on its conversion into a bookies.
He said efforts would be made to retain as many of the pub’s original features as possible.
The proposed betting shop would create at least five full-time jobs, added the spokesman.
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News of the pub’s possible demise was, however, greeted with dismay by some in the city.
Simon Jenkins, the Yorkshire Evening Post’s beer writer, said: “It is always sad when Leeds loses fine old licensed premises.
“Sadly, The Vine had been in decline for a while.
“It is unfortunate that it was perhaps not seen as a viable proposition as a pub, in a city where traditional old alehouses are becoming thinner on the ground.”
Ian De-Whytell, boss of Headrow-based music store Crash Records, questioned the need for a bookies in a building which is neighboured by an existing branch of William Hill.
He said: “We seem to have more than enough betting shops in Leeds already. I always thought The Vine had potential to be a replacement for [former music venue] The Duchess of York, which was just around the corner.
“But even though bands like Arctic Monkeys and The Cribs played there, it never managed to establish itself in that way.”
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