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Plan for flats at former inn site
Thursday 10th July 2008, 11:50AM BST.
Plans have been submitted to build more than 40 flats on the site of a former coaching inn in the heart of Wellington.Liverpool-based Nextdom is seeking the go-ahead from Telford & Wrekin Council to bulldoze part of the 17th century Charlton Arms.
The application is for 41 new apartments while the Grade II-listed part of the inn would be retained.
The Charlton Arms occupies a prime site in the centre of town.
But it has been closed since August 2006 after fire swept through the building.
Campaigners, including Wellington Town Council and Wellington Chamber of Commerce, have called for the inn to be retained.
But Aoife O’Brien, Nextdom spokeswoman, said today: “We bought the Charlton Arms when it was in administration and ran it for four years, but it didn’t work out.
“There clearly isn’t a market in Wellington to support such a business.”
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Its disgraceful that a part of Wellington’s history can be bulldozed and made into flats.
When the Charlton was open – I NEVER saw it empty – so it must have been making a fair amount of money.
This is just greed on the owners part to convert the inn into flats.
Surely the council could compulsary purchase the Charlton on the grounds that it is a historic part of Wellington?
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Well said Phil, we need to preserve the history of wellington otherwise all thats going to be left is charity shops..
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What’s historic about a derelict hotel in a derelict town? I’m fed up of reading about the lack of housing yet whenever proposals to build new homes on brown field sites there are countless objections. Would you rather the Charlton is just left there to rot like the old bingo halls that are littered around Telford?
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If anything of historic value is knocked down just because it is derelict then please explain what would happen to the history of our country.
By your reckoning we should also knock down Ludlow Catsle, Clun Castle, Bridgnorth castle as they are all derelict and old.
Lets build cheap, replica flats over all our historic sites.
That should improve Shropshire no end Peasbody!!!
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Harold, i think maybe you could build a few apartments in the west wing of Peasbody towers.
And why do you hate Wellington so much ?
The Charlton should be saved and restored to its
former glory.
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Phil: the Charlton is hardly Ludlow Castle! Dear me – if that’s your best argument, you should give up now!
Tiddles: I do not hate Wellington. However, it is a dump these days. Yet everytime there’s a hope of improvements or regeneration, people object because they’d rather keep an old pub because it used to be nice a long time ago… move on, people!
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Correction the Charlton is not just a Pub.
It is an important historical building and a very good venue for weddings, gigs, exhibitions etc.
It has the potential to bring prosperity back to Wellington.
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H. St. John Peasbody – The Charlton is a 17th century coaching inn, one of the oldest buildings in what is known as wellington – to knock it down to build 40 small flats is hardly going to improve Wellington is it?
If 40 flats is all it takes to improve a town – its a good job your not a town planner.
wellington will only improve as a town by concentrating on its history. Knocking everything down because it is old – will merely convert Wellington into another replica new town – new buildings/mostly flats and cheap housing!
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Clearly the Charlton is not viable as a pub, hotel, venue for weddings, gigs or exhibitions, else it would be thriving. I really cannot see an old boozer bringing prosperity back to Wellington although 40 additional flats in the town would be a great benefit to not just Wellingtonians but to the influx of immigrants in the area too. This being the case, I applaud the conversion of the site to housing.
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The Charlton was thriving – when we booked our wedding reception there the books were full for the next 18 months,
However the difference between thriving and and the profits from 40 X 130K flats is immense.
By my reckoning there will generate just over 5million for 40 flats at 130K
So we come down to the juxt of the matter
Greed
Rather than run a inn which could make over 700K per year they would prefer to go for 5 million in 2 years
Pure greed
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What makes you think the housing will be affordable housing ?
Look at the old chad valley site, very nice but very expensive.
These are not going to be for poor people are they ?
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this is outrageous with all the modernity of the centre, telford must fight for every ounze of old building left
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tiddles to be honest I can’t see luxury flats being built near to the centre of Wellington where the Charlton is located.
Can you see someone with over 200K to spend buying a flat in the centre of Wellington?
I can’t – so I assume they will be affordable housing
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Phil, what part of “the Grade II-listed part of the inn would be retained” do you not understand?
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Harry Saxon Esq – The whole of the inn should be preserved – not just the part which have been designated as Grade II. As I understand it the Grade II parts refer to the beams which would probably be retained in a flat.
Its not really ensuring the Inn is retained in its current state is it?
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H.
Since when did building lots of houses in a town bring it prosperity. Look at all the building done around Dawley and Madeley since the sixties…not exactly thriving are they? Wellington will just go the same way as all the other poor towns round here. They are trying to ruin Oakengates too by taking away some of the parking spaces for flats….a sure way to decimate the Town and ruin the Theatre.
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the council must stop this, we need old buildings in our area badly
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we need to figt to save this and every old building
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its just as unsustainable to destroy our built environment and hertiage for development as it is to detroy our natural heritage and green fields
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