Two former pubs in Greater Manchester to be converted into new homes and restaurant

Two former pubs in Tameside could be turned into homes and a restaurant under proposals lodged with the town hall.

The council has received two separate applications for conversions of public houses in Stalybridge and Denton.

They concern the former Traveller’s Call pub on Wakefield Road, and the George Kirkpatrick pub – also known as the Last Orders – on Manchester Road.

In Stalybridge, new plans to convert the Traveller’s Call public house have received seven objections.

Travellers Terraces Ltd has applied to turn the empty pub – which closed in 2018 – into eight apartments, and build a two storey rear extension in the central courtyard.

A previous application to convert the pub on Wakefield Road into eight, two bedroom apartments was rejected by the town hall in 2021 after officers said the redevelopment would be ‘incongruous’.

And another plan to convert into a six-bedroom shared house was withdrawn in February of this year.

Under the new plans there would be eight one bedroom studio apartments, spread across two floors.

A statement on behalf of the developer says there would be ‘more than adequate space and windows to ensure that the future occupants have a good standard of living throughout’.

It is proposed to include three parking spaces at the front of the property.

“To facilitate the proposal, a modest two storey extension is proposed but unlike the previous proposal, this extension respects the amenity of the adjacent occupants and does not extend by the rear elevation of the dwelling,” the statement adds.

“The completed development will provide all the necessary facilities associated with 21st century living both internally and externally.

“Given the scale of this pub in its current form, it has become unsustainable and the expectations that such a facility would be busy and profitable 7 days per week are unrealistic especially given the presence of an adjacent public house and others within the area.

“No one is denying that public houses are not of fundamental importance but the most successful pubs are those that are supported by the local community which enables them to thrive.

“The change of use of the public house to residential accommodation makes the best use of building and will ultimately guarantee its future.”

What are the other plans?

Across the borough, the George Kirkpatrick in Denton is proposed to be converted into a restaurant on the ground floor with four flats on the upper floors.

It closed in 2020 due to the pandemic and has not reopened, says the planning documents on behalf of the applicant IBA Properties Ltd.

According to a documents, even before the outbreak of Covid-19 it suffered from ‘fierce competition under already difficult economic conditions’, with too few customers and too many venues nearby to choose from.

“The George Kirkpatrick did not have the aesthetic appeal as a modern, fashionable place to make it attractive to sales,” it states.

“In addition, the size and scale of the building meant the running costs were high, unjustified against the low sales.”

The supporting statement adds that the building’s roof is deteriorating and converting it would provide the funds to refurbish the roof.

“Due to the reasons listed above, the use of the building in its current form and use is not financially, logistically or structurally viable any longer,” it concludes.

Under the proposals there would be two one-bed and two, two-bedroom apartments in the first and second floors.

“The residential apartments proposed would offer the growing local population a set of four modern, high-quality homes within a well-connected and buzzing district centre,” the report states.

“At the same time, the restaurant will bring in a much-needed economic boost to the shopping street by providing jobs back to the community.

“We believe the reasons mentioned above justify the loss of this public house would not cause unacceptable potential social harm to the local community.”

A decision is expected to be made by the planning authority on both applications by mid-August.