A GRADE-II listed town centre pub which traded for 200 years could be turned into houses.

The Horse & Jockey in Ross-on-Wye’s New Street closed two years ago after complaints from neighbours about noise and rowdy behaviour forced licensing authorities to reduce its opening hours.

In its heyday in the 1800s, it shared the bustling street with a bank, two blacksmiths, a tailor, watchmakers, boot and shoe makers, two schools, an accountants, a law firm, an auctioneers, another pub and even a lock-up for felons.

But today the street is almost totally residential, with the pub on the brink of going the same way.

An application to convert the three-storey property into two homes and demolish the rear extensions says the building was originally two separate houses before becoming a pub by at least 1821.

And applicant Robert Macey of Peri Estates in Manchester says it won’t entirely lose its historical connections, with the new homes being named after a jockey and a horse who raced at the town’s long-gone racetrack, which ran from 1836 to 1922.

A report to Herefordshire Council planners in support of the scheme says: “Because New Street is almost totally residential, and the historic layout of the north side is of terrace houses with their fronts opening directly onto the pavement, with long narrow rear gardens, reversion to two houses is very appropriate.”

It adds: “It is always sad to see a pub close, but in this instance the layout and condition of the structure has made it financially unviable, and in the past customer disturbances at night has made the establishment unpopular with local residents.

“Ross is generally well provided for when it comes to drinking establishments.

“As well as the retention of the inset ceramic ‘Best In The West’ sign, to keep the historical context it is proposed to name the houses Hastings House and Merry Monk House.

“These names continue the horse racing theme of the Horse & Jockey. From September 1836 to September 1922 Ross had a very popular racecourse… located on Moor Meadow at Weir End.“Hastings House will commemorate a major patron of the races, the Honourable Aubrey Craven Theophilus Robin Hood Hastings, a very famous jockey and trainer who trained at least five Grand National winners.“Merry Monk House will commemorate the top horse at the 1836 meeting, Merry Monk.”

Three years ago, town police applied for a licensing review of the pub after numerous complaints from neighbours about late night loud music from the premises.

Herefordshire Council’s licensing department, who had already served a noise abatement notice on the landlord, heard that police had made nine referrals in the previous 18 months.

Residents had also told a meeting of the town council they had to put up with “appalling” shouting and “bad language” from the beer garden, and were forced to keep their children indoors.

Licensing authorities ordered the pub to close earlier at the end of 2017, but it finally ceased trading shortly afterwards.