Arson In Rough Close

As you might have seen at the Voice of Rough Close, or with your very own eyes, arsonists have been at work in the area.  Sometime during the late afternoon of Thursday, 26th May, person or persons unknown set the pub on fire.  It was no doubt a very conscientious local resident who raised the alarm and the fire brigade were on the scene quickly enough to extinguish the blaze before it could cause any serious damage.

From what we could see, part of what used to be the restaurant area has been burnt but not a lot else.  Certainly none of the building shell has been affected and the fire did not spread to local properties.

No doubt rumours will abound in the days to come as to who set the pub alight and no doubt the owners' names will be mentioned.  However, would anyone wishing to cause serious harm commit arson in the middle of the afternoon with local residents out and about?  We doubt it.

What we do find depressing is the abuse that this grand old pub has suffered over the past two years all of which has been brought about by property speculators (the owners) trying to make a fast buck.  Apart from a few members of the Planning Committee, no one really believes that the owners ever had any intention of running the pub as a going concern.

A sign of the times maybe but what is just as disappointing is that Stafford Borough Council have seemingly ignored the fact that the owners never had sufficient funding to realise the plans approved by the Planning Committee way back in December.  This is clearly evident from the advert on the Daniel Hulme website where the owners are trying to sell the pub as a development site or enter into a joint venture.

Whatever happened to caring about the community, about heritage and about the environment?  Apart from local residents, is anyone really bothered?

All Quiet?

Not much sign of life over at the pub at the minute.  Maybe it's got something to do with the Bank Holiday.  Or the wedding.  Or both.  As previously indicated, we've been in touch with the Planning Dept. at SBC to ask what information they are giving out about potential changes to the planning permission already granted and why they are doing that given the local opposition. 

They refused to tell us!  So we wrote back requesting the same information under the Freedom of Information Act.  That means they have to provide the information or explain why they are unable to do so.  They have 20 working days in which to respond.  As soon as we hear something you'll be the first to know.