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Bulldoze threat to landmark Blackpool pub
BOSSES at a landmark Blackpool pub have issued a "use it or lose it" call.
Shock plans have been submitted by brewing giant Marstons to bulldoze the Welcome Inn on Vicarage Lane, Marton, and build shops and flats in its place.
But the pub is set to open today under new management and the current licensees have been given a three-year window to turn around the hostelry's fortunes.
Landlord Julie Trotter said: "There are two parts to the brewery. One half wants to keep the pub open and the other half sees a 1.5m block of land they can sell.
"We've now signed a three-year tenancy agreement during which time they won't do anything. After two years, if we show we've really made improvements in the business, then we can extend that agreement to five years.
"We're aiming to bring back a real community feel to the pub and hope locals will support it.
"We're reopening the vault which has been closed for three years, getting Sky TV in and restarting the pool and darts teams. We're also getting a new chef in and will specialise in home cooked food."
Former Blackpool FC star John Hills has backed the new team financially and is ready to throw his weight behind their effort.
He said: "I am looking forward to a new challenge outside of football. The pub is a great venue and we're hoping it's a great success.
"I know a few Blackpool fans in that area and hope they come out and support us."
The firms behind the proposed development – brewery Marstons PLC and Lincolnshire-based Rand Land and Development LLP – have applied for permission to build shops with flats above and parking for customers in front.
Dave Daly, chairman of landlord group Licensees Unite and manager of The Castle on Central Drive, said: "This is one of Blackpool's famous old pubs and has as much history as Uncle Tom's Cabin, which has also sadly closed.
"Our organisation doesn't want to see any more new pubs, but we want to keep the ones we already have and have them refreshed.
"Nowadays a lot of breweries and pub companies seem to think of their pubs as real estate rather than a community business."
The plans include demolishing the pub to build six commercial units on the ground floor with 15 flats on the first and second floors above. While letters were sent to nearby residents last Tuesday, town hall planning chiefs have yet to receive any views either way.
Ian Rigg, former licensee at The Welcome and now manager of The Taps in Lytham, said: "I was there for four years and it was an excellent pub. I won my first Campaign for Real Ale award while I was there.
"There is a lot of business around there and if The Welcome was to go there would be no pubs in the area at all. A few have gone already."
Last month, The Gazette highlighted the plight of 11 of the resort's formerly lively venues which has since been boarded up.
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Weather for Blackpool
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
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