A campaigner behind the failed bid to save Salford’s Unicorn pub has hit out at the city council.
Gary Parsons says the local authority did not do enough to support the campaign to have the building on Liverpool Road, Eccles, classed as an asset of community value (ACV) and has now demanded an apology from Mayor Paul Dennett after the application was turned down.
Mr Parsons said: “To be honest I’m not sure what it will achieve other than for the council to apologise that they could have supported us better and avoided the hard effort we have put into applying for the ACV.”
The ACV was applied for in a hope to stop the 100-year-old building being demolished and 16 homes being built on the site.
Jade Corcoran, council officer, explained at the public council meeting where the decision was made that the landowner, The Wellington Pub Company, does not plan to sell the site, even once the houses are built.
Mr Dennett said at the public council meeting: “Our job as the city council is to apply the legislation. I was drawn to the fact that the current owner of this – and that isn’t the city council – doesn’t actually intend to sell the site and we’ve already heard that there is a live planning application making its way through the system at the moment for the purposes of housing.”
Mr Parsons added: “I am pretty resigned to the fact that the planning permission will be granted regardless, and the 125-year–old building will be demolished.”
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