Couple of pubs in Brownfield Bradford
Two more pubs are to be demolished in the industrial fringes of Bradford.
Royal Oak, Sticker Lane:
New Inn, Manchester Road:
It always amazes me that pubs in the middle of nowhere, in the middle class hinterlands and along the traditional MAMEL routes are thriving at the moment. Their fate did not look so rosy a few years ago, but something cultural changed, and people suddenly were intrigued by pubs (and the fare they offer) in the middle of nowhere. They provide pilgrimage for weekends.
Wouldn’t it be great if these superannuated urban pubs could find such a resurgence, perhaps from intrepid urban explorers, or those seeking something different. Over to you Camra.
Crown Hotel, Chickenly
Pub to be demolished just outside of Dewsbury in Chickenley:
There is literally nothing else in Chickenley aside from housing estates. This is all they had to give Chickenley a sense of place, but no one went and now more houses will be built once it has been leveled. Another pub outmoded by suburban life.
Amidst such streets as Short Street and Mill Lane that hint at an erstwhile quaint industrial settlement, another name on the map has slowly become completely meaningless.
The Beulah Pub, Tong Road, Leeds
Another pub going down:
Something of a mock Tudor effort in the middle of nowhere, apparently dating from 1830, although the facade looks a lot more recent
Sadly shut now, although it was part of the CAMRA circuit in recent years.
The name ‘Beulah’ crops up around Leeds a lot and is a type of sheep. The name certainly stands out from your White Harts and Old Bridges.
Diamond Jubilee Club, South Kirkby
The Diamond Jubilee Club in South Kirkby, Pontefract set for demolition:
Not a particularly beautiful or historic building, or in a scenic area, but the demise of an old drinking establishment is never too welcome here.
There is also a glimmer of social history in these clubs, that is as of yet under-recognised, but the bittersweet working class culture of Pheonix Nights was born out of these function halls, which always demonstrate the austere approach to celebration this generation of Brits had.
In the land of Nandos and Wagamamas, it can be nice to see these fragments of an authentic and mercurial culture that can never be emulated elsewhere.
Flockton Working Mens Club
Demolition of Flockton Woking Mens Club and the development of 87 houses:
Fine example of a mining community’s social hub. Sadly villages like Flockton have become places to sleep and park your car rather than somewhere to cohabit as a rural community. Thus a club like this is an anachronism.
Strange ho in pursuit of ‘sustainable development’ we are willing to destroy rural social infrastructure to develop swathes of houses in villages.
Its just bad planning, no excuses. We are letting the market make planning decisions for us.
The Royal Pub, Shipley
Pub in Shipley set to be demolished:
Not an astounding building, but definitely a sight for sore eyes should you find yourself in this sink estate of the impoverished North Bradford conurbation.
It may look derelict now but this building will have more history and meaning than we can possibly imagine.How many people will have dropped a load of clothes off at the launderette before popping next door for a swift pint?
What a shame, another old public house lost. Come on people, this is our culture we are levelling!
Pubs being flattened in South Yorkshire
A couple of applications to demolish pubs in South Yorkshire:
The Travellers Rest Inn, Pogmoor, Barnsley:
The Thorncliffe Arms, Chapeltown, Sheffield:
The Thorncliffe Arms is over 200 years old and its loss will be lamented by the local community, as indicated by the coverage this application has received in the local press:
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/councillors-lament-loss-of-200-year-old-sheffield-pub-1-7349329
The Travellers Rest Inn is also a good robust building that has served as a community asset for well over 100 years.
Unfortunately there is not much we can do about the market for pubs – if residents of Pogmoor or Chapeltown don’t want to go to pubs any more, they will close. However, that is always subject to change, and rather like Beeching pulling up the railways, demolishing community infrastructure is short sighted. A retail use or otherwise would offer a mothballing scenario, and perhaps one day, when suburban culture feels the need to socialise again, a pub would be viable.
And there are no excuses. The planning legislation to allow local authorities, or neighbourhood planning groups to block these demolitions exists.
Pub in Baildon to make way for flats
Application to needlessly demolish The Little Blue Orange public house to make way for a plot for 6 houses and 9 apartments:
Surely it can be justified that a pub/restaurant in this location is sustainable?
A perfectly robust building that could be used in a number of commercial incarnations, or at worst, converted to very attractive housing, is to be flattened. Pubs have huge car parks, which make such premises easy options to bolster profits when under the cross-hairs of the annual asset audit at a major brewer.
It is a major flaw in the development industry, and is the fault of the planning consultant that hastily fails to consider whether extant buildings are viable for retention. The private consultant works with red line plans only, seeing only hectares and minimum dwelling densities.
Broomgrove Club, Sheffield
Application to demolish Broomgrove club in Sheffield, for the erection of a couple of houses:
I don’t know much about this building, but it certainly had some utility for the local community which will sadly be lost. Whats more, the net gain from this development is only one dwelling. And realistically a second dwelling could be added to the existing curtilage. This is further loss of the civic architecture the Victorians left us, not due to redundancy of the building, but because their legacy – prestige and primacy of social institutions, and participation in society – has been eroded. This is a serious concern for our culture.
Duke of York pub Sheffield
Another corner site pub in Sheffield is being demolished as part of a wider site clearance on behalf of Lidl, purveyors of continental shrink-wrapped groceries.
Lidl already have a supermarket on this block, so this demolition is to make way for a cap park extension. Specifically, the plans show the footprint of the pub being replaced by a trolley storage unit.
Just another reminder that after all the rhetoric from local governments about pursuing sustainable development, we are losing a community asset to facilitate further the culture of driving to a supermarket to fill your car with groceries. Of course, anything can be described as sustainable thanks to the caveat that economic growth or job creation is an important ‘pillar’ pf sustainability. I’m of the opinion, that if development doesn’t meet all the criteria for sustainability, then it is not sustainable, with no exceptions. Come on Sheffield, don’t let them extend their car park to further this urban void!
The Demolition Register 