A councillor is furious that plans to demolish a historic Nantwich village pub were pushed through, despite a council conservation officer’s recommendation to save it.
The owners of The Horse Shoe Inn, on Newcastle Road, Willaston have applied to knock the closed pub down to make way for potential housing on the site.
Willaston and Rope ward councillor Brian Silvester and parish councillors campaigned for weeks to save the building from demolition.
And Cllr Silvester had been offered some reassurance from Cheshire East Council’s conservation officer, who stated it would be viewed as an “undesignated heritage asset”.
This meant officers asked developers to consider amending the plan to retain the building within the scheme.
But this recommendation was rejected and the application was agreed by the Southern Planning Committee.
Cllr Silvester told Nantwichnews: “I am afraid that despite my best efforts this plan was passed. It is very sad, more history lost to the bulldozer.
“I am very angry. Nobody was against the principle of residential development, but the pub could have been converted to residential. It’s a great shame.
“Both myself and the parish council felt strongly that it would be criminal to allow one of the few historic buildings in Willaston to be demolished.”
The building is one of the oldest in the village and the plot formed part of the Manor and Lordship of Willaston, owned by Ralph Sneyd.
After his death in 1793 the estate passed to his son who then leased the dwelling house, blacksmith shop and premises to Henry Collier.
He then sold the premises to Henry Collier in 1861.
A Cheshire East Council spokesman said: “The Horse Shoe Inn is not a protected building and all the correct procedures were followed during the planning application.
“All of the relevant information was provided to members of the planning committee when the application was approved.
“The building was treated by officers as an undesignated heritage asset. The detailed comments of the council’s conservation officer were read out to the planning committee.
“The previous informal comments by a council conservation officer stated that the building has “some local heritage value” and set out the possibility of securing the retention of the building, but only if the applicant was willing to amend their plans.
“The heritage value of the building was discussed with the applicant’s agent but ultimately no amended plans were forthcoming and the planning application had to be determined on its own merits.
“Ultimately, insufficient heritage value could be attributed to the building to refuse planning permission for a redevelopment of the site.”
(pic by Peter Styles, creative commons licence)
Once again developers without imagination what’s the bet the new build programme will include a “village pub” all shiney and new, without the charm of what was once a lovely cosy pub that needed more TLC after the road was altered isolating it. Did not ring any alarm bells to planners then did it?!