By Matt Jarram, Local Democracy Reporter
A landlady who was set to lose her pub – a popular jaunt for Nottingham Panthers fans – says she has been given a reprieve of up to two years.
The Nottingham Legend on Lower Parliament Street, close to the Motorpoint Arena, is known as an ice hockey pub, attracting hundreds of fans and players.
Nottingham City Council’s planning committee accepted plans to demolish the pub on Wednesday, July 21, and build a five-storey student housing block in its place.
Planning officers said the demand for student housing has “outstripped supply for a number of years” and if the council wants to “create more balanced communities” there needs to be more purpose-built student accommodation.
More than 50 people had objected to the proposals, including local ward councillors.
The pub, which has been in the city for decades, is adorned with ice hockey memorabilia, including framed, signed ice hockey shirts.
Michelle Padley, 55, an avid Nottingham Panthers fan, has run the pub for the last seven years and even had her wedding reception there.
The news that the owner of the building, Punch Pubs and Co, was selling up came in September 2020. At the time, Mrs Padley had just finished radiotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2019.
She had expected to close the doors of the pub in November, but she has now been told the pub could remain open for “six months to two years”.
She also said she will be given three months notice when the time comes.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I am ecstatic – the home for hockey fans is back. We have had a reprieve and a boost in times of sorrow.
“It has been a bad year and a half, and they have given us something to look forward to.
“We can now have the hockey play-offs here and it attracts fans from all different teams as well as concert goers attending the Motorpoint Arena.
“The day before I handed my keys over on November 9, the owners rang and said ‘We wanted to know if you wanted to keep the pub open for longer?’
“I said ‘it depends how long?’ and they said ‘it could be six months to two years.’ I am glad we have reopened.”
She said the reason she has been given is development on the site will not be happening for a while.
“The Nottingham Panther fans are really happy but not a lot of people know we have reopened,” she said.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has approached Punch Pubs and Co for comment.
