Demolition of eyesore Peterborough pub begins
Demolition work has started at a once popular Peterborough pub which closed more than a decade ago and has become something of an eyesore .
The Old John Clare, on the corner of Hallfields Lane and Pennine Way, Gunthorpe, closed in 2014.
It has been subject to vandalism and anti-social behaviour - including being set on fire in an arson attack in 2020 - ever since as it sat boarded up and derelict.
A number of redevelopment plans have been considered for the site over the years, the most recent approved in 2023 from Asha Homes.
It involves a two-storey building creating 15 dwellings with car parking, landscaping and amenity space following demolition of the existing building .
This week, the fenced off site has seen contractors stripping the roof ahead of the building – described in the planning application as "an over extended two-storey ‘estate pub’ building that is contemporaneous with the wider C1950s and 60’s housing estate that surrounds it” – being flattened.
“Typical of estate pub building of the time the property is not visually distinctive from its surroundings and has been over extended in the form of substantial side and rear projections all with a flat roof,” the application continued.
“Damage to the property by fire compounded by the loss of the business in 2014 has resulted in the building degrading to a point where substantial works are required or comprehensive development needed in order to make it once again fit for purpose.
"The service provided by the facility is met by alternative provision that exists within reasonable proximity.”
Covering on the wire fencing around the site indicates the scheme is being completed by Ivory Construction Group.