Historic pub damaged by fire could become flats
BBCAn historic pub devastated by fire four years ago could be transformed into apartments and commercial space as part of new plans for the site.
Permission is being sought for a new rear extension at The Leopard in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, as well as demolition of damaged sections of the existing building for safety reasons after it was gutted by a blaze in 2022.
A scheme to turn the 18th Century pub into shops and 17 flats was previously submitted and later withdrawn.
Now the new application proposes 15 apartments and two business units at the Grade II listed site, which was where Josiah Wedgwood and James Brindley met to discuss building the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1765.
The Leopard is also be believed to be the basis for The Tiger pub in the books of Stoke-on-Trent novelist Arnold Bennett.
About 40 firefighters tackled the fire at its height in January 2022.
Police arrested four men on suspicion of arson and burglary, but they were later released with no further action.
A planning statement submitted as part of the new application said the building became vacant in 2020 and was purchased by the current owners, Daneets Investments, in 2022.
It added safety and demolition works had been carried out in consultation with the council following the fire, but the site was still unsafe to enter.
The statement said the new scheme was "heritage-led" and prioritised retention of "the most significant surviving fabric, particularly the late 18th century main building and circa 1830 Market Place frontage".
A "contemporary but sympathetic extension" would be added to the "irretrievably damaged rear aspect", it stated, which would be "more appropriate than reconstruction that replicates what was there".
The plan is to retain and repair the "historically significant frontage" currently covered by scaffolding, where possible.
Two ground-floor units would "support the vitality of the town centre", the statement added.
Listed building consent is also being sought for the alterations.
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