A PUB near Oxford’s railway station could be demolished and replaced with a four-storey block of flats.

Linea OX1 Ltd has proposed knocking down The Adventurer – formerly The Honey Pot – in Hollybush Row, so it can build seven flats, two of which would be two-bed and the rest one-bed.

The London-based firm has lodged its plans with Oxford City Council and a public consultation will end on October 13.

Its agent JPPC argued the pub was not needed in the area because of several other venues nearby, including the Jam Factory, The Lighthouse and the Oxford Retreat.

The Adventurer’s opening hours are currently 4.30pm to midnight on Tuesdays to Thursdays and 4.30pm to 1am on Fridays to Saturdays.

In a letter to the city council JPPC said: “The loss of the existing public house would not be harmful. A generous range of alternative establishments are available in this part of Oxford, offering the same or, in most cases, better facilities.

“The Adventurer is marketed as an evening and night-time drinking venue, however there are other public houses and bars in the vicinity which fulfil such a function.”

The pub was formerly owned by Greene King and named The Honey Pot, but reopened in January as The Adventurer.

On its website it is described as an “exciting new destination for discerning Oxford drinkers” with a “sophisticated cocktail service with the best of British pub tradition”.

The pub acts as a venue for live music and has a kitchen JPPC said, but kitchen facilities are limited and food is limited to bar snacks.

JPPC said the “constrained nature” of the pub – consisting of a front bar, back room and courtyard – meant there was little room for more features such as a pool table, dartboard or an Aunt Sally.

The agent said getting rid of the pub would help meet a need in the city for housing and there were “no compelling reasons” to resist its demolition.

The statement added: “In preparing the city’s West End area action plan, the council undertook a character assessment of the area. While other buildings along Hollybush Row are identified as contributing positively to the area’s character, no mention is made of 8 Hollybush Row.”

It said the new flats would be “modern” in appearance and would also feature 12 bicycle spaces.

Carfax city councillor Alex Hollingsworth said the pub had no formal protection but was “a nice building and an attractive part of the street scene”.

Mr Hollingsworth, the city council’s planning boss and a member of the West area planning committee, added: “If these plans go forward we willlook at them very closely. The committee takes the loss of a community asset like a pub seriously.”

* To comment on the proposals, visit public.oxford.gov.uk/online-applications and use the reference 15/02694/FUL