D-DAY ON SHOP AND FLATS TO REPLACE OLD PUB THAT COLLAPSED
Officials urge approval despite neighbours’ worries
A DEVELOPER wants to press ahead with plans to turn a former pub into a convenience store and flats - despite the building dramatically collapsing.
The old Blacks Head Inn, at Upper Tean, was bulldozed after the gable end crumbled onto the pavement last September.
It came as preparatory work was being done on the site. At the time, planning permission was in place to convert and extend the 19th century pub into a Co-op store and four flats.
The pub car park was due to be used by shoppers and people living in the new apartments.
New plans will be discussed by district councillors today. They cover the rebuilding of the demolished pub, which is under way and so requires retrospective approval.
But neighbours have raised various concerns, saying the development now has an impact on their light and privacy. They also claim it is not in keeping with the local conservation area.
Bev Reardon, of Old Road, has responded to the latest application. She said: “The height of this building is way over the original roof height of the Blacks Head pub.
“It dwarfs my property and there are windows from this building directly opposite the windows of my house. The building dwarfs my neighbours’ gardens in High Street, and blocks sunlight, leaving their gardens in permanent shadow.”
Michelle Johnson, also of Old Road, raised similar concerns. She said: “It now overpowers my back garden and will affect natural light coming into my kitchen and bedroom windows.”
A report to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s planning committee says the possible impact on nearby properties was assessed as part of the original application. The conclusion was it ‘would not lead to any significant loss of light or privacy’.
But the latest plans have raised fresh issues over where air conditioning and chillers would be located for the food store. The council’s environmental health team is assessing what impact this will have on noise levels.
The committee is being recommended to approve the new plan, so long as there is no last-minute objection from environmental health.
The Co-op is relocating from its existing High Street premises to the new site, where it would take up the ground floor. Above the store, three of the flats would have two bedrooms, and the fourth one.
Checkley Parish Council said it supported the relocation of the Co-op, but is calling for a controlled pedestrian crossing in New Road. It has also flagged up concerns about the impact on nearby terrace properties.
The report by district planning officers states: “The rebuilding of the former pub part of the scheme would replicate the former building.
“There is still considered to be a need for an improved food or convenience store for the village and, due to the recent change in the five-year housing land supply situation, there is now a greater need to allow the flats above.”