It has been closed for a number of years but now a planning application has been submitted to Birmingham City Council
05:30, 23 Apr 2026
Erdington’s historic Lad in the Lane pub(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
A former pub which lays claim to being Birmingham’s oldest pub could be turned into offices under new plans.
Erdington’s historic Lad in the Lane pub, which closed in 2019, has spent the last six years falling into increasing disrepair.
Now, a planning application – not yet publicly available – has been lodged with Birmingham City Council to transform the Grade ll-listed building into an ‘office space’.
READ MORE: Work underway at Birmingham’s ‘oldest pub’ six years after landmark’s closure
The applicant, understood to be owner of the building, is also seeking approval to provide ‘supported accommodation for vulnerable women’ on the ‘ground and first floor levels’.
The planning application for the Bromford Lane site, shared with BirminghamLive, reads: ‘Listed building consent for internal alterations required to facilitate proposed change of use of existing public house and managers residential accommodation (Sui Generis) to ground floor office space (Use Class E).
‘Also with supported accommodation for vulnerable women provided at ground and first floor levels.’
We reported last month how the owner of the iconic building had begun vital repair work to prevent the 14th-century boozer from further decline following concerns from the local community.
Urgent repair work is underway at Erdington’s historic Lad in the Lane pub(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
It comes after a blaze broke out at the site in 2024, although the building did not appear to suffer serious external damage when BirminghamLive visited.
The once-bustling pub dates back to around 1400 and is often cited as being potentially the city’s oldest boozer, alongside The Old Crown in Digbeth.
Coun Basharat Mahmood said in March that “many residents” had contacted him with their concerns over the condition of the former pub.
Historian Carl Chinn said the iconic site was historically a “really important landmark” for the people of Erdington.
He told BirminghamLive: “It’s a special building. One of the oldest in the city, alongside The Old Crown.
“It’s had lots of changes over the years, but there’s still elements and signs of late medieval times inside.”
The council said planners had a “significant backlog in the validation and processing of planning applications” due to “staffing and resource pressures”.
The application (2026/01279/PA) will appear publicly on the council’s website once “outstanding information from the applicant” has been submitted, the authority confirmed.
Do you have special memories from frequenting the pub? Let us know in the comments.