More than 500 people have signed a petition to stop a ‘stupid’ idea to transform a historic Willenhall pub into a shop on a busy junction.

Bar Investments Ltd have put forward a proposal to Walsall Council planning officers to transform the Bridge Tavern, based on Bentley Lane, into a new convenience store.

But the plan sparked strong opposition from people who said the location was the ‘wrong place’ for a shop as the building sits at the road’s well-used junction with High Road.

Short Heath ward councillor Josh Whitehouse started a petition which drew support from hundreds of people within a few days. He submitted the petition into Walsall Council’s cabinet at a meeting last week.

To date, 545 people have put their names to the campaign against the application, which will be discussed at planning committee after it was ‘called in’. One person who signed the petition said:

“The location it’s unsafe and also it’s a beautiful building with character. Should remain as it is and it will lose this if changed into a shop. There has to be a way to save the building and preserve it. To many pubs are being destroyed and history lost.

“It’s unsightly seeing these places becoming shops. To many pubs are being lost instead of getting them back to how they was.”

Another said: “This is a stupid idea as this building is on a very busy junction and another convenience store is not needed.”

One resident added: “This junction is dangerous enough, this needs stopping now, lives will be lost if allowed to proceed with this quite frankly stupid idea.”

And another local said: “I live very near to the pub and the traffic is already horrendous and that particular junction has so many near misses. Trying to pull on our drive is already an issue.

“We don’t need any more shops there are more than enough and R&B convenience store is more than enough and I will only patronise that shop.”