Fire-ravaged pub's renovation plan withdrawn

New plans for The Leopard, which dates back to 1765, are expected to be submitted in the summer

Plans to restore a fire-ravaged historic 260-year-old pub in Stoke-on-Trent have been withdrawn, it has been confirmed.

Initial proposals to turn Burslem's The Leopard into shops and 17 flats were lodged last March, after the building was gutted in the devastating blaze in 2022, before police uncovered a cannabis factory inside it.

However, the original application has now been withdrawn by the owner of the building in Market Place, Daneets Investments.

A new planning application for the Grade II listed building - which was the meeting place of Josiah Wedgwood and James Brindley where they discussed building the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1765 - is expected in the summer.

The pub was gutted by a fire in 2022

Stoke-on-Trent City Council said the submission of an entirely new application would "avoid any confusion" and allow a fresh round of consultation.

"Our planners have been in frequent dialogue with the owner since the planning applications were submitted last year and now, as a result of these discussions, the owner has appointed a team of professionals to review the original proposals and produce an amended scheme," a spokesperson said.

"These new plans will be considered under a fresh application which is likely to be submitted in the summer."

The pub has been closed since the first Covid lockdown, before it was devastated by fire two years later

The Leopard closed its doors in 2020 at the start of the first Covid lockdown, but did not reopen before the fire in 2022.

Four men were arrested on suspicious of arson and burglary following the blaze, but they were later released without charge and the exact cause of the fire has never been established.

Last year's planning application included proposals to preserve the building's historical features, with the creation of 17 assisted-living flats and a retail space in the basement and ground floor.

A consultation response from Historic England highlighted the need to "safeguard as much remaining historic fabric as possible".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.