Blackburn community group in ‘turn old pub into cafe’ plea (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn community group in ‘turn old pub into cafe’ plea

3:40pm Thursday 9th August 2012 in News By Jessica Cree, Education reporter

A COMMUNITY group is hoping to turn a rundown pub into a community hub.

The Stanley Arms, in Pemberton Street, Roe Lee, closed at the end of last month after struggling to make a profit.

Residents near the former watering hole, which originally opened in 1865, have said the boarded-up building is giving the wrong impression and are planning to turn it into a ‘micropub’.

The plans would see the pub being used for community activities, including an internet cafe, games and shop during the day and a bar in the evening.

Siobhan Coyne, who lives two houses away, is leading the Save Our Pub campaign. She said: “The pub is all boarded up at the moment and it looks a total mess. It doesn’t look right in the area and we just want to save it.

“Everyone is upset that it has gone, it was a really good pub and it would be absolutely great if it could become a community centre.”

A meeting to discuss the plans has been arranged to take place from 6.30pm today at the Peridot Community Base, Peridot Close. It will be attended by a representative from a cooperative, experienced in this kind of scheme to offer advice.

Siobhan said: “I am hoping there will be loads of people coming, it could be a real community pub.”

Coun Phil Riley, who is also backing the campaign, said: “We are exploring the possibilities of turning the pub back into a community pub and a place that the community can call their own.

“There are some really enthusiastic people. The Stanley Arms has been a local pub for the best part of 20 years and it was the heart of this small community. It closed for all sorts of commercial reasons and it would just be a lovely way of showing that people can fight back in these kinds of circumstances before it disappears into the hands of property developers.”

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