PLANS to transform a fire-hit south Essex restaurant and bar into 32 apartments have been approved.

At a Basildon Council planning meeting last night, plans were granted to convert the former Reids Bar, in Laindon Road, Billericay, into flats.

The application was originally deferred from the February 21, 2024, planning committee meeting in order for officers to seek an amended location for the proposed refuse store following concerns.

Plans for a three-storey building with 32 apartments have now been approved.

The 32 flats will comprise of eight one-bed flats, and 24 two-bed flats – split over two separate blocks.

Reid’s Bar and Grill, in Billericay, has been closed for years following the devastating fire ripped through the roof of the building.

The roof was 50 per cent alight and had begun to collapse as fire crews arrived in July 2022.

The bar has been in the town for 30 years and has previously been known as Quilters and the Ivory Rooms.

Plans for 35 flats were previously rejected, however developers Brodie Group and Daniel James Developments worked to scale back the plans and now a proposal for 32 homes has been given the green light.