A REAL ale pub chain has won an appeal to overturn a council's refusal to let it convert a former building society.

Now, J D Wetherspoon is seeking a drinks licence for the former Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society in North Road, Durham.

The firm, which is opening 90 pubs a year, has been trying to get premises in Durham for some time, but its previous plan, to convert the former Palladium cinema, in Claypath, was refused planning permission.

Durham City Council's development control committee also rejected its application to convert the Cheltenham and Gloucester, a Grade II listed building that has been empty for more than two years.

Planning officers considered that the demolition of outbuildings would have a "detrimental impact'' on the character of the conservation area.

Wetherspoon wants to demolish the rear outbuildings, put a roof over the yard and create an outdoor drinking area under an archway at the side of the building.

The officials said such yards and outbuildings were not common in the city, were "worthy of preservation'' and contributed to the city centre conservation area.

But planning inspector David Cullingford said: "I consider that neither the yard nor the outbuildings would contribute sufficiently to the character of this conservation area to warrant preventing the important revitalisation of North Road that this, otherwise acceptable, scheme would secure.

Spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "We are delighted to have won this appeal and now we are putting forward an application for a licence.

"We have always been keen to open in Durham and we have been looking at sites for the last three or four years.

"We feel the building society is a good site, but the council refused permission, which is its right.

"We have got planning permission now and we are hoping to take things forward.

"Wetherspoon is a chain, but every one of our pubs looks different and has a different name."

The licence application will be heard by the North Dur-ham Licensing Panel on Friday, August 9, at Chester-le-Street magistrates' court

Unlike many other chains, Wetherspoon pubs have neither juke boxes nor TV screens.