A HISTORIC pub that closed down due to the pandemic could be turned to housing to “ensure the building’s survival.” The Hermit Inn in Burley Woodhead was named after a local eccentric who lived in a hut on Ilkley Moor, and dates back to the 18th century. Late last year the pub, on Moor Road, announced that due to the pressures of the pandemic it would not be re-opening. Now a planning application has been submitted to Bradford Council to convert the building into two houses. The application, by Gillian Kelly, says the pub’s taking had been declining even before the pandemic, and there had been little interest from any buyers in buying the remote hostelry.