Uncertain future for mothballed Market Drayton pub as owner Greene King submits planning application

The Gingerbread Man on Adderley Road in Market Drayton officially closed its doors on July 3 this year, with its popular children’s Wacky Warehouse play area having closed down around a month earlier.

Owner Greene King has now put forward an application for lawful development for "use of the premises as a restaurant", usually intended to confirm the existing use of a premises with the local planning authority.

The move is a step commonly taken either by a new owner prior to re-opening, or by a potential purchaser to clarify the permitted use of a building before sale.

The application includes a number of historical menus and photographs, apparently intended to confirm the building's prior use as a restaurant, which dates back to 1997 when the pub first opened.

Greene King declined to comment, other than to confirm the application was intended to confirm the building's use as a restaurant under changes to planning categories, which were brought in during 2020.

Under the changes, several planning classes including A3, which is used for restaurants, were merged into a new category known as class E.

Speaking last month, Greene King described the closure of the pub as a deeply difficult decision, and did not say the firm had any plans to re-open the pub.

"We can confirm that the Gingerbread Man in Market Drayton has now closed. Making the decision to close a pub is never an easy one, and multiple factors are always considered," said a spokesperson for the company.

"We would like to thank our loyal customers and communities who have enjoyed visiting us over the years. We look forward to welcoming them into our other pubs in Shropshire soon.”

Greene King Pub Partners operates more than 950 leased, tenanted and franchise pubs in the UK, and says it's invested £27 million in its pub estate during 2025.