Planning permission has been approved by the council to build student accommodation where a beloved pub once stood.

Southampton City Council has approved plans submitted by private development company, Danehurst Limited, to build “purpose-built student accommodation,” at the site of the former Firehouse pub in Vincents Walk.

The building will be up to 13 storeys high, and include 139 studio flats, a gym, study area, and communal space.

It comes after a once-thriving bar and music space, Firehouse, closed on January 1, 2024.

Demolition work began to reduce the building to rubble in December 2024, following an initial proposal in September 2023 to convert the building into student housing.

More than 1,000 people signed a petition in just 24 hours to save the then music venue, following an application to demolish the building in Southampton city centre in 2019. In total, almost 3,000 people backed the petition to keep the bar a part of the city’s nightlife.

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The approved application on Southampton City Council’s planning portal states the site will see the “erection of a purpose-built student accommodation, up to 13 storeys in height, including 139 studios, a gym, study area, laundry room, communal space, staff room, reception office and associated bin storage and cycle parking, following demolition of the existing buildings.”

Following the closure of Firehouse in Vincents Walk, a spokesperson for the bar said the industry was more challenging compared with “the pre-pandemic age.”

In a statement on the pub’s website, a spokesperson said: “Whilst the industry is certainly more challenging now when compared with the pre-pandemic age, we still believe that we can continue to be successful under a new roof.

"As always, we thank you all so much for your continued support.”

The announcement was met with sadness from customers on social media, as James Mulliner commented: “I remember drinking here since roughly about 2004, so many great memories and times and all the bar staff come and gone I'm proudly still glad to have as friends.

“Thank you for the best times and best of luck for the future.”