Time called on historic pub as demolition starts

VENUE TO BE TURNED INTO GREGGS DRIVE-THROUGH

-  CHRIS SLATER

A WELL-KNOWN former pub is being torn down to make way for a new drive-through Greggs.

Plans to flatten the old Farmers Arms pub at the junction of Stockport Road and Edgeley Road in Cheadle Heath, Stockport, were controversially given the green light last autumn.

The former watering hole, said to date back to the 19th century, closed during the first Covid lockdown and never re-opened.

Plans to demolish it and replace it with a Greggs, including a drivethrough lane, first emerged in the summer of 2022 when a planning application was submitted by the brewery Greene King.

Last September planning approval was granted despite considerable local opposition. More than 64 letters of objection were submitted by residents.

Concerns ranged from fears about the impact of extra traffic, a lack of healthy food options in the area, and the loss of a historic site in Stockport.