Price cut again at 'eyesore' pub

THE value of an "eyesore" pub has been slashed for the second time in 14 months in an attempt to attract a buyer.

The King William IV, in Talke Pits, was reduced from £350,000 to £225,000 in November 2008.

Now its value has been cut again to £160,000 – a saving of £190,000 on its original price.

Paramount Investments, which is marketing the building, says the property represents "excellent value" for someone looking to buy into the pub trade.

But people living near to the High Street boozer say they would rather see the pub pulled down than pouring pints again.

The pub shut around two-and-a-half years ago and residents say it has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and trouble.

Deb Jackson, aged 42, who lives a few doors down from the pub, said: "It's an eyesore in the community and something needs to be done with it.

"Most of the signs have been ripped off the pub by vandals and pretty much all of the pub's name on the front of the building has gone.

"You often get kids messing around the building and pulling bits off it. The whole site is covered in litter and has become a dumping ground for anything from rubbish to household settees.

"It's not the kind of thing you want to be looking at everyday.

"It used to be a nice pub years ago and it's a shame to see the building left to rot.

"I think anything they do with it would be an improvement, whether it's ripped down and turned into housing or shops, but I wouldn't like to see it reopened as a pub."

Colin Stubbs, who also lives on High Street, said the empty pub was attracting drug dealers.

The 54-year-old said: "You see them gathering behind the pub and behind the shops next to it.

"They should turn the building into some kind of youth centre, which has pool tables for the kids so they have something to do at night.

"I don't think it will reopen as a pub because there's enough pubs in the village as it is, and most pubs are shutting down these days.

"They should put a fence around the pub until someone buys it to stop people from ripping it apart."

In its advert for the property, Paramount Investments says the building also has the potential to be turned into residential accommodation or retail units.

Mark Greig, Paramount Investments managing director, said: "We now believe the price represents an excellent bargain for the right kind of licensee.

"We hope the new price brings the opportunity within the range of individual licensees and community groups as well as the pub companies and property developers that may already have been able to afford it."