Chelmsford's landmark pub, the Army and Navy, faces demolition as part of a redevelopment of the site.

The former rock music venue is set to close at the end of the month and could be redeveloped for housing along with Gard's timber site, although plans have not yet been submitted.

A spokesman for the pub's owners Mitchells and Butlers, based in Birmingham, said this week the site has been sold to a developer and the pub will close by the end of the month. The 10 members of staff are all expected to be offered work elsewhere.

Martin Gard, managing director of J Gard, said he has also agreed a sale with a developer.

Mr Gard said: "We are not closing. We aim to find alternative premises in Chelmsford but it's not easy. I don't expect the move to take place for at least 18 months or two years, and the sale depends entirely on that.

"For commercial reasons I cannot reveal who the developer is and I have no idea what they plan here but I suspect it will be housing."

The company has been at its Parkway location since 1927 and is now in its fourth generation as a family business.

A spokeswoman for Chelmsford Borough Council said there is no planning guidance for the two sites and the council has not received any planning applications.

The first Army and Navy pub was in the original stretch of Baddow Road, the building is still there, but the 'new' one was built as a road house when the 1930's A12 was built on the then outskirts of the town.

Until 2002 the pub had a national reputation for original live-band rock performances which included early appearances by Oasis and Blur.

The Army and Navy name is used to identify the roundabout and the one-way flyover. The roundabout gained a reputation in the region as a traffic blackspot.

Published Friday January 14, 2005

Brought to you by the Essex Chronicle