30-06-2025
Outcry over plans to demolish iconic Stroud pub
PUB-LOVERS are fighting plans to demolish an iconic Stroud venue.
As revealed by the SNJ last week, the derelict Market Tavern in Union Street - best known as the site of the legendary Pelican in the 1980s and 1990s - could be demolished under fresh proposals being considered with the aim of improving the area.
However the scheme has provoke fierce opposition from the Stroud branch of Camra - the Campaign for Real Ale.
Members say they are 'appalled' by the idea of the building being bulldozed and believe the site still has the potential to be run as a successful pub.
The group plans to 'vigorously' oppose the plans for the Tavern, which has been closed for more than a decade.
While no formal planning application has been submitted yet, Stroud Town Council's highways and consultations committee backed initial proposals at a recent meeting.
At the meeting Lawrence Pinkey of Setminds Limited discussed proposals for the site with the demolition of the building seeming likely.
Tim Mars, pubs officer at Stroud Camra said: 'We are appalled at proposals to demolish the Market Tavern and will vigorously oppose them.
'In its heyday as the Pelican with Andy Thomas, Beaver and Lotte Lyster at the helm, it was lively, bohemian, eclectic, cosmopolitan and popular, and Stroud is a much duller place without it.
'It was the quintessential Stroud pub.
'It was my favourite town pub and I was a regular there from the moment I moved to Stroud in 1991.
'The Pelican was succeeded by a limp and dreary succession of relaunches and rebrands, re-named first as the Union Tavern and then as the Market Tavern, and passed through various hands, re-incarnations and re-inventions—all ending in failure.
'It's now boarded up awaiting rehabilitation or demolition.
'This is not about sentimentality or nostalgia.
'There is no reason to believe that the Pelican could not trade successfully as a pub with the right management.
'It has many things going for it.
'It has two bars and a function room (where bands, including my son's, used to play) and, uniquely in Stroud, a pub garden (the Ale House and the Lord John have paved courtyards.)
'It is a public house not a bar (which is a licensed shop) with landlord's accommodation above.
'In Stroud town itself, while we have lost the Swan (now two shops) and Shunters (now Sorrento, an Italian restaurant), there has been something of a renaissance.
'Since Wetherspoon opened the Lord John in the town's former post office and postal sorting centre in 1996, we have seen the arrival of the Ale House, the Corner House, the Curio Lounge, Brody's, the Town Owl Taphouse and, most recently, the King Street Social Tap while the Queen Vic is holding its own too.'
'Pubs and bars are thriving in the town as never before.'
Speaking to the SNJ after last week's meeting, mayor Tony Davey said: 'The committee reviewed the proposals submitted by the developer and noted that the scheme has evolved over time in reflection of feedback, including that from public consultation.
'We are mindful of our own Neighbourhood Development Plan and how that defines this area as an important gateway to the town.
'Today, the site is not one to be proud of, but there is an opportunity for change and improvement.
'The site has already been altered by the creation of Cornhill, which changed the aspect and means the building faces away from the gateway.
'Stroud is not a chocolate-box image of a town, it is an eclectic mix of architecture and interpretation.
'This plan brings smaller, somewhat flexible retail units, more usable space than today, and enhances the important view to Rodborough by opening up the view.
'We have recommended that some of the quality stone in the building facade is repurposed in the new development, if approved.
The plans may not be appealing to all, especially those with fond memories of what was once.
'Whilst we can shape the future, we cannot always bring back times of long, long ago.'
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