Bulldozers close in on Preston football pub

Preston's last surviving matchday football pub is finally being shown the red card.
The Sumners could be flattened within a monthThe Sumners could be flattened within a month
The Sumners could be flattened within a month

The Sumners in Fulwood, meeting place for North End fans for decades, looks set to be bulldozed within weeks.

An application to knock down one of the city’s best-known watering holes has been submitted to Preston Council after months of speculation.

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But the future use of the site still remains shrouded in mystery, with the new owners so far not identified.

Work started last month on clearing the Sumners pub site.Work started last month on clearing the Sumners pub site.
Work started last month on clearing the Sumners pub site.

The pub was put up for sale earlier this year with a guide price of £600,000. A spokesman for the agents CBRE in Manchester told the Post: “We sold it about five weeks ago. I can’t say who bought it. That is confidential. But it is a local purchaser who was looking at various options for the property.”

The Sumners was opened in 1985 to replace a pub next door of the same name which was knocked down for a road widening scheme. There have been numerous rumours of closure in the past year, but the doors closed last month.

It stands on a 2.6 acre site which extends beyond the car park and behind the adjacent car dealership down to Eaves Brook. Only around one acre is said to be suitable for development.

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The application to knock it down, submitted by demolition firm Pete Marquis Contractors, says: “The building has been vacant for some time and could attract antisocial behaviour and become dilapidated, which would create an eyesore adjacent to a conservation area.”

The firm says demolition work, if granted, could start as early as September 13 and be completed within two weeks.