Derelict pub on roundabout set to be demolished

The Darlaston Inn has been closed since 2018

A derelict former pub on a roundabout is set to be demolished and replaced with a petrol station.

The Darlaston Inn, on the A34 near Stone, Staffordshire, shut in 2018 due to falling trade and has since become a target for vandalism.

Plans to replace it with a branch of KFC and a 24-hour petrol station were rejected over pedestrian safety fears.

But fresh proposals with the restaurant removed have been approved.

The site has become a target for vandals since the pub closed

The boarded-up former pub building and Wacky Warehouse play area will be flattened.

A petrol station along with eight electric vehicle charging points, car washing facilities and a sales building including a convenience store will replace them.

The initial plans, which included the restaurant, were turned down in 2019 by Stafford Borough Council because of safety fears over people crossing the busy A34 on foot.

The county's highways authority objected to the fresh plans but a planning inspector said the removal of a restaurant from the scheme "substantially lowered" the number of pedestrians likely to go to the site.

There were also objections to the demolition of the pub but the inspector said the building was of "limited architectural interest" and an alternative pub existed in nearby Meaford.