Thursday, 11 August 2016

The Blights Arms

I was recently in Uttoxeter in Staffordshire and spotted this building just off the market place which looked suspiciously like a former pub:

A quick check on Google StreetView showed that, indeed, it was the former Wheatsheaf. It was already closed in 2009, but still had its pub signage.

One person on Twitter questioned how owners can afford to leave buildings empty for so long:

But in reality it’s not as simple as that. Assuming the building has no future as a pub, it is going to cost money to convert it to anything else, and that will need both someone willing to take it on, and planning permission. In many cases, the owners are probably hanging on to get planning permission to demolish the building and redevelop the site for something else, typically housing.

Up and down the country, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of derelict pubs that have been in that state for years, many of which are featured on my Closed Pubs blog. Fortunately there aren’t too many in Stockport, but two exceptions are the Royal Mortar on Higher Hillgate and the Bow Garrett on Brinksway, both of which must have been closed for over ten years.

One that has been in this state for many years is the Horse & Jockey in Helsby. The picture dates from August 2009, and the current StreetView shows it in a much worse state. However, there is now a sign saying “14 x Two and Three Bedroom Homes Coming Soon”, so the situation has in the end been resolved. Just think of the difference in sale value between fourteen houses and one struggling pub.

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10 comments:

  1. James Higham11 August 2016 at 10:37

    Mudgie, I like your roving commission - to travel the length and breadth of Britain on some sort of extended pub crawl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Curmudgeon11 August 2016 at 12:06

      I do plenty of other things, it's just that I only report the pub-related stuff on here. If you want dedication to extended pub-crawls, check out Martin Taylor and Simon Everitt.

      Delete
    2. Alan Winfield11 August 2016 at 18:00

      The Wheatsheaf was an Ansells tied house when me and the wife did it on 2nd November 1990 while doing most pubs in Uttoxeter.

      On another note why am i not included on your links to extended pub crawls,i have been doing them since 1981 so know a lot about the subject and pubs done.

      Delete
    3. Curmudgeon11 August 2016 at 18:15

      Sorry Alan, no offence intended. James - Alan's blog is here: The Never Ending Pub Crawl.

      Can we look forward to a write-up of Uttoxeter?

      Delete
    4. Alan Winfield12 August 2016 at 17:35

      Thanks for that,

      I did take photos of most pubs we did in Uttoxeter and did take one of the Wheatsheaf in better days,but they are not on disc yet so unable to add them to my blog at the mo,it has been a mammoth task over the last ten years getting thousands of my negatives put on disc,i will get there in the end and no doubt Uttoxeter will feature at some point.

      Delete
  2. deadmanjones11 August 2016 at 12:32

    Royal Mortar isn't empty, it's been the offices of phantom tracking systems for a couple of years

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Curmudgeon11 August 2016 at 14:18

      I actually passed it the other day and thought it looked "sealed up" rather than derelict, but hardly an active building.

      Delete
    2. John Clarke11 August 2016 at 16:17

      Yews, I think the ex-Royal Mortar has been used for a few things over the years but it's certainly had no TLC for a long time.

      Delete
  3. Sackerson11 August 2016 at 12:39

    An old bookmaker in Bridgnorth told me Uttoxeter locals used to call the town "Uchester".

    ReplyDelete
  4. retiredmartin11 August 2016 at 21:50

    There's a pub on the A505 between Baldock and Royston (Horse & Groom) that's been crumbling for nearly 20 years since a doomed Caribbean food experiment. Council refused building of hotel, but can't see how you could turn off safely
    Actually just seen your blog on it;
    http://closedpubs.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/horse-groom.html

    ReplyDelete

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