Former Stafford cinema could be demolished in housing plan

The Sandonia has been empty since it closed as a snooker club in 2004

A former cinema could be demolished under plans to replace it and nearby buildings with affordable housing.

The Sandonia building in Stafford opened in 1920 but has been derelict since about 2004.

The proposals would see it demolished along with a neighbouring vacant depot and a third building used by a roofing firm.

Fourteen affordable homes would then be built on the site between Sandon Road and Sandyford Street.

The cinema at the Sandonia operated in the 1960s and then became a bingo hall followed by a snooker club before the building became vacant, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Demolition work was attempted at the site in 2021 but Stafford Borough Council halted it as it said at the time permission had not been granted.

An application was then submitted seeking permission for demolition but the authority has not yet made a decision on the proposal.

The fresh application, from Fulwood Executive Pension Scheme, said the roofing firm in the neighbouring building had one full-time employee who wanted to retire.

A resident of Sandon Road has written in support of the latest application and described the whole site as "a complete eyesore".

"It devalues neighbouring properties [and] it attracts vermin," they added.

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