I have pretty much got to the bottom of this now. The bottom line is that if the Council wants to keep the pub open it can and it can veto any development (flats etc.).
The land is owned by the Council, who lease it to Enterprise Inns on a long lease (until about 2060) on a pepercorn rent of £300pa. There is a clause in the lease which says that Enterprise Inns must run a pub on the site. If they do not they are in breach of the lease. I.e. they cannot close the pub.
A planning application has gone into the Council to develop the site for flats. As the owner of the land the Council can say yes or no to flats regardless of whether planning permission is granted.
The decision rests with the Executive of the Council which is the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems are also campaigning to save the pub.
Bizarrely the Council was about to agree to sell the land to Enterprise Inns yesterday. Even more bizarrely the Lib Dems did not seem to know this was happening even though they were due to make the decision in a public meeting at 3pm yesterday!
Following pressure from the Conservatives the decision was deferred to allow for further discussion. This will mean that no decision is taken before the elections for the City Council on 4th May.
The decision will then be taken by whoever is in control of the Council (currently Lib Dems, although after May it could be the Conservatives).
I think the wider question is, should the Council have a policy on whether pubs like the Saints should stay open? This is where the Council owns the land but leases it to a brewery at a pepper corn rent as a social amenity. I am minded to say yes.
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Frankly, I'm very suprised that the LDs *didn't* know about the impending sale, the documents were on Cityweb well in advance of the meeting (I know because I read them there and noticed this proposed asset sale).
I was amazed to discover it as well! Especially as they had been in the Daily Echo for weeks campaigning to save the pub. Also a planning application had gone in prior to the meeting to sell the land. All very presumptuous!
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