local pub for local people..

Mabs

J Peasemould Gruntfuttock
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one of the really nice old pubs round the corner from me shut a while ago, wetherspoons promptly bought it (yay :/) but have not done anything with it in 2 years, apparently due to the fact that they were refused the late license etc they were fishing for. so its just been boarded up since it shut.

someone has now put this sign on the fence outside, its about 2 ft high and 5 ft long, thought it was rather nice :D
 

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TdC

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awesome! well done that man!
 

Scouse

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You mean Otley town council?

They're the one who refused the late licence, remember?
 

Ch3tan

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You mean Otley town council?

They're the one who refused the late licence, remember?

So they bought a pub and could have run it, but because they did not get a later license they decide to just let it sit? Hardly the councils fault.

Did the pub have a late license when it was operating before?
 

dysfunction

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So they bought a pub and could have run it, but because they did not get a later license they decide to just let it sit? Hardly the councils fault.

Did the pub have a late license when it was operating before?


Probably not and maybe that's why it had to shut down...who knows...
But I agree, Weatherspoons should do more with the site rather than let it go to ruin...in a kind of protest against the Council...
 

Zenith.UK

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I don't see why pub chains think they have the automatic right to a late licence. For years 11PM was a reasonable closing time because it meant the bloke got home to sleep at a normal time, usually saving their jobs.

Nice one on whoever put that banner up.
 

Wazzerphuk

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Probably not and maybe that's why it had to shut down...who knows...
But I agree, Weatherspoons should do more with the site rather than let it go to ruin...in a kind of protest against the Council...

But that would cost them large amounts of money. Why bother when you can let it rot, and force people into your other pubs because there is now less opposition?
 

rynnor

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But that would cost them large amounts of money. Why bother when you can let it rot, and force people into your other pubs because there is now less opposition?

Its probably a prelude to tearing it down and building houses.

Was a pub in the road we used to live in that got acquired by a developer - they knocked it down on the day of completion because they heard the preservation society was trying to get a preservation order - lol!
 

dysfunction

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But that would cost them large amounts of money. Why bother when you can let it rot, and force people into your other pubs because there is now less opposition?

So you would like to live in a neighbourhood with loads of boarded up shops and pubs??

I think the Council / Government should prevent this type of property hoarding. It's not good for the community.

Tesco have been doing it as well and it's not right. In fact I think they may have been told to either develop their hoarded properties or sell them.
 

DaGaffer

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So you would like to live in a neighbourhood with loads of boarded up shops and pubs??

I think the Council / Government should prevent this type of property hoarding. It's not good for the community.

Tesco have been doing it as well and it's not right. In fact I think they may have been told to either develop their hoarded properties or sell them.

Yes, Tesco have been told to sell off property. As for boarded up pubs in general, well, with 4 pubs closing a day in the UK, expect to see a lot more.

I do find it quite amusing that everyone is getting so self-righteous about this in the absence of any actual hard information. Maybe Weatherspoon's took over the pub on the understanding from the council that they could have the licence, and then the council reneged? Fact is, none of us know. What we do know is that Weatherspoon's are a business and can do what the fuck they like with their property, and that the original pub was hardly a roaring success or it wouldn't have been sold in the first place. And that if it did reopen as a Weatherspoon's it would be shit anyway.
 

dysfunction

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What's so self righteous about wanting a well known profitable pub chain to do something with a property they have purchased??

I agree there are loads of facts that are not known about this situation but I would prefer there to be a pub rather than a boarded up building.
I don't think companies have the right to do whatever they feel like. They have a responsibility to the environment they are operating in.

Buying a property and then not doing anything with it is wrong and they should not be allowed to do this sort of thing. It could have been a preventative measure to stop another business from starting up.
 

DaGaffer

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Buying a property and then not doing anything with it is wrong and they should not be allowed to do this sort of thing. It could have been a preventative measure to stop another business from starting up.

According to a press release on 1st Dec they are opening in Otley:
JD Wetherspoons to open 250 new pubs | BigHospitality.co.uk.

As for whether its "wrong" to buy property and not do anything with it; I'd say that depends entirely on the individual case, unless its proved to be anti-competitive as in the Tescos example. As Wetherspoon's a. don't dominate their market, and b. there's oversupply of pubs, I don't think its particularly wrong in this case.
 

Wazzerphuk

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So you would like to live in a neighbourhood with loads of boarded up shops and pubs??

I think the Council / Government should prevent this type of property hoarding. It's not good for the community.

Tesco have been doing it as well and it's not right. In fact I think they may have been told to either develop their hoarded properties or sell them.

The question was from a business perspective, not a personal one.
 

old.Tohtori

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Buying a property and then not doing anything with it is wrong and they should not be allowed to do this sort of thing. It could have been a preventative measure to stop another business from starting up.

Wouldn't that apply to all housing then too? Furniture you don't like shouldn't be on lawns? The lawns that are THIS shade of green should be removed? Etc.

Afterall, in this case, if laws ain't broken, isn't the "wrong" just an opinion?

Just asking not getting into this too much as it's a UK discussion really :p
 

dysfunction

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Afterall, in this case, if laws ain't broken, isn't the "wrong" just an opinion?

Just asking not getting into this too much as it's a UK discussion really :p

Yes and no as it all depends on your sense of morals really. Should a company be socially aware of the environment it operates in? I think yes. If that's the case then it should not buy a property and leave it vacant for years on end.

If you believe a company can do whatever it likes with no consequence or take public opinion into account then this situation is fine...

I believe a company should be socially aware and if they purchase a property with the intention of developing it then they should do straight away...

The question was from a business perspective, not a personal one.

No it's not personal but these days i think companies should make more of an effort to positively influence the areas they operate in. this means if you buy a property develop it now, don't board it up for 2 years and make an announcement that you will develop the sites within the next 5 years...

I personally don't want to be living in an area of "planned" development. i would want development now! I think companies should "listen" to communities and not just pretend to.
 

DaGaffer

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Yes and no as it all depends on your sense of morals really. Should a company be socially aware of the environment it operates in? I think yes. If that's the case then it should not buy a property and leave it vacant for years on end.

If you believe a company can do whatever it likes with no consequence or take public opinion into account then this situation is fine...

I believe a company should be socially aware and if they purchase a property with the intention of developing it then they should do straight away...

No it's not personal but these days i think companies should make more of an effort to positively influence the areas they operate in. this means if you buy a property develop it now, don't board it up for 2 years and make an announcement that you will develop the sites within the next 5 years...

I personally don't want to be living in an area of "planned" development. i would want development now! I think companies should "listen" to communities and not just pretend to.

I think you're being a bit naive; there's a recession on, and the wheels of public planning permission grind exceedingly slow.
 

Wazzerphuk

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He's often that naive. Morals play no part in big chain businesses like Wetherspoons. Profits do.

Why spend large amounts of money getting it back up to scratch, hiring staff, getting in stock, starting a launch - for something that may well not get enough customers in to warrant it? Is that good business in a recession?
 

dysfunction

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He's often that naive. Morals play no part in big chain businesses like Wetherspoons. Profits do.



I'm not naive, I know how the business world works. I would accept that my statements may not be practical...
 

old.Tohtori

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Yes and no as it all depends on your sense of morals really. Should a company be socially aware of the environment it operates in? I think yes. If that's the case then it should not buy a property and leave it vacant for years on end.

First, thanks for the reply. Clears your point and i won't delwe into it further.

Second, you could always think of it as an eviromental act(if one believes that crock). Vacant building = no electricity! :D
 

Scouse

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Nice one on whoever put that banner up.

Again. The point I was making was that it was Otley town council who put the banner up.

Both Weatherspoons and the council are to blame tbfh. Yes, Weatherspoons could do something with the site, but I bet the council could grant a late licence too - rather than use public money to put a banner up in a cynical attempt to garner public sympathy.

Lets face it, it's on the "Otley Run" that pub - student heaven. But you need a late licence to make any money out of it...
 

Tom

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So in other words, its a pub that closed because people thought it was shit, and didn't go.

And the only way to reopen it is either to make it not shit, or give it a late licence. Presumably the council didn't want to do the latter, because the locals objected.

I blame the previous landlord for running a shit pub.
 

Darthshearer

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Aye I saw that

I know a chap whos on Otley Council & Otley German Circle & Otley agaonst Chavs, basically he is Mr Otley, and he has wrote to Weatherspoon and isnt very happy
 

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