ANOTHER Worcester pub could be turned into housing.

Plans have been submitted to turn the empty Lansdowne Inn on White Ladies Walk, off Upper Tything, Arboretum into two houses and a ground floor flat.

The move is the latest in a long line of bids to transform empty city pubs and restaurants into homes.

In recent months your Worcester News has reported on plans to turn the Barbourne Inn, in New Bank Street, the Berwick Arms in Bath Road, the Arboretum Inn, Northfield Street and Armstrong House in Diglis - all in Worcester - into residential use.

The Barley Mow, a Grade II listed building in Sidbury, is to be turned into six apartments while, in April 2012, the Drakes Drum in Tudor Way, Dines Green, was bulldozed to make way for a multi-million pound housing development.

The trend is a worry for Worcester City Councillor Simon Cronin, who runs the Plough Inn at Lower Broadheath.

"I think pubs have everything stacked against them," he said.

"It takes years to build one up and you can lose it in the blink of an eye.

"The smoking ban, which I agree with, has hit pubs. You can also go into your local supermarket and buy a load of beer cheaper.

"If all you are looking to do is drink then you would be a fool to go to a pub.

"When I embarked on my drinking career 35 years ago, if you walked into a pub you would see someone you knew. You would not walk into an empty pub.

"English pubs are a vital part of our culture and community and we really need to preserve them."

Peter Styles, applicant in The Lansdowne conversion bid, says in planning documents submitted to Worcester City Council that the venue has been empty for nine months.

"The closure of Lansdowne Inn is due to the fact that the local demands were insufficient to balance the running of the public house," he says.

Separate developers have been given permission to convert part of the Berwick Arms, on Bath Road in Worcester - closed since early 2011 - into a four-bedroomed home.

Last September, Berkeley Homes was granted planning permission to turn Armstrong House, on the Waterside development near Diglis, from restaurant use into six apartments.

And in June, developer Unique Housing was given approval to convert the Arboretum Inn in Northfield Street, Arboretum, into five self-contained flats.