A DERELICT pub and an abandoned school in Leamington are set for a new lease of life.
Plans for the redevelopment of the former Stoneleigh Arms public house on Clemens Street and The Old School on Court Street have been given the green light by Warwick District Council’s planning committee.
At their meeting on Wednesday December 13, councillors agreed to a further set of regeneration proposals for the Old Town area of Leamington.
These include the demolition of the derelict former public house to be replaced with a new building of a similar scale and style to be utilised for mixed creative uses, and the refurbishment and extension of the ex-school as a future community space.
It is envisaged that a new ‘pocket park’ landscaped area will link the two buildings.
Enabled by the Government’s Future High Street Fund and co-funded by Complex Development Projects who are WDC’s development partner, this is the third major project to be progressed to support the town’s creative quarter ambitions.
It follows the flagship Spencer Yard redevelopment which is now complete and the Town Hall Creative Hub which is due to start on-site early in 2024.
WDC’s arts spokesperson Coun Ella Billiald said:“It’s really exciting to see the next phase of development starting to take shape, breathing new life into this site which has been abandoned and derelict for many years and raising the potential to bring it back into community, commercial and creative use.”
Emma Harrabin from Complex Development Projects added: “We are very pleased to introduce new and much needed creative arts and community spaces to Leamington, particularly in this part of town. This brings the potential to provide exciting opportunities for the sector to continue to grow and for local communities to access artistic and educational facilities, cultural events and landscaped outdoor spaces.”
Discussions are underway with potential future tenants of the space and the buildings are aiming to complete by the end of 2024.
