A Harold Hill pub that has been empty since 2016 is being demolished to make way for homes.

The bulldozing of the Pompadours in Edenhall Road started on February 5 according to a planning application dated March 1 by Hilldene Estate Ltd.

A proposal to build 21 new houses on the site, sent in August 2019, was approved by Havering Council in February 2021.

Of these, 15 were planned to be three-bed and six two-bed, with 36 car parking spaces and 42 cycle spaces to be created overall. Thirty-five per cent of the homes were pitched as 'affordable' housing.

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Almost three years after this go-ahead, the building is now being demolished to implement the plans.

The pub was shut down in March 2016 and a 2017 Recorder article said the building was subjected to fires and fly-tipping since its closure.

Romford Recorder: Rubbish left by travellers at the Pompadours site in June 2018Rubbish left by travellers at the Pompadours site in June 2018 (Image: Archant)

The Recorder reported that when the pub closed in 2016, travellers occupied the site for around 24 hours and left piles of rubbish in their wake.

When plans were first launched to redevelop the pub into 25 flats in 2015, they were met with resistance from local people. That application was rejected by the council who labelled the development as “excessively dense” days after a protest by residents.