[dropcap type=”circle”]T[/dropcap]he Pensby Hotel, a significant mock Tudor landmark in the Pensby and Thingwall district since the 1930’s, is to be demolished.
The work is scheduled to begin on the 26th of this month.
Now in a sad state of disrepair, the large pub has had a chequered past. In 2014 police discovered a large cannabis farm of more than 500 plants and sophisticated lighting equipment, a find which resulted in a two year prison sentence for landlord Shane Blanshard.
This was the final nail in the coffin of the Pensby Hotel as a public house. Having been in a state of what local Councillor Phil Brightmore calls “managed decline” for several years, the pub had also attracted complaints from residents concerned about late night noise and other disturbances.
The pub’s operator, Admiral Taverns, joined forces with developer LNT Construction and on behalf of Ideal Care Homes plans were submitted to flatten the Pensby and construct a 60 bed residence for older people.
Local pressure mounted against the scheme. The building was seen to have great potential as a community amenity despite its recent history. Many residents were brought together in opposition.
The developer’s planning application was subsequently rejected a year ago by Wirral Borough Council which declared that the proposals were “greatly inferior in design terms” compared to the pub, and that approving the application would have “impoverished the architectural and local interest of Pensby”.
At the time, John Hughes, Chairman of the Pensby Community Association, said, “We’re pleased with the outcome and we’re pleased that Wirral Council listened to the community. We want to bring back it back to its former glory as a pub, but also as a community centre, as it is a vital part of our community.”
Sadly this dream has died. But if the Pensby Hotel was of “architectural and local interest” just 12 months ago, why is it to be razed to the ground now?
The simple answer is that a decision taken at a local level has been overturned by the national Planning Inspectorate. Once Wirral had rejected LNT Construction’s application the developer had six months to appeal. On the last day it did so. By now the Pensby Hotel was beginning to look derelict, which may have influenced the Inspector’s binding decision – to give approval after all.
Councillor Brightmore said, “Despite all the rhetoric from government about giving power to local communities to make decisions, in the end local people have not been listened to. Despite the awful result, I want to give huge credit to John Hughes and the Pensby Community Association for all their hard work. Hopefully this group will not disband in the wake of this result, and keep serving the community from which it arose.”
John summed up local feeling like this: “The residents of Pensby are very bitter at the moment. We are appalled that the Planning Inspectorate down in Bristol can overrule the local council. The system seems rigged in favour of developers in search of profit. It’s such a shame that companies from outside Wirral can purchase important buildings, knock them down, and there’s nothing the local council can do to save them for local people.”
Another indication of the strength of local feeling is the size of the Save the Pensby Hotel Group on Facebook. It numbers just shy of 1000 members.
';
