Plan to transform ex-pub into farm shop set to be rejected

Semi-derelict boozer empty for 17 years

- Phil Corrigan Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS to demolish an ‘eyesore’ former pub on a busy road and replace it with a farm shop and cafe are set to be blocked.

The New Inn in Denford Road, Longsdon, near Leek, closed 17 years ago and is now in a semi-derelict state.

Upperdales Developers Ltd is proposing to replace the pub with a larger two-storey building housing a shop and cafe, with an adjacent field being turned into a 75-space car park.

According to the applicants, the development would create the equivalent of 50 full-time jobs, boost the local economy and remove an eyesore building.

While 70 per cent of the development site, including most of land earmarked for parking, lies within the Green Belt, the applicant says it meets the definition of ‘grey belt’ and that very special circumstances exist to justify the proposals.