The Springfields Hotel

DRINKERS and a heritage group have condemned a scheme to demolish a pub which they claim is a "historical gem."
The project, to build a much bigger pub with a children's playroom on the site of the Springfields Hotel, Trent Vale, would create 50 part-time and full-time jobs. Allied Domecq Leisure is to pour more than £1 million into bulldozing the current building and erecting a Big Steak Inn.
But Mervyn Edwards, of the Potteries Pub Preservation Society, claims the building is Georgian and dates back to the 1750s. He said: "We believe it is a historical gem and one of the landmarks on the route into Trent Vale. It is sheer vandalism to replace this with a fun brand. We are determined to fight this planning application."
James Baldwin, a part-time member of the bar staff, said: "I have been coming here seven days a week for over 15 years. We have a very friendly group here and feel very bitter. Many of us moved here after they turned another pub into a Big Steak Inn and ruined that."
Allied Domecq's planning application includes building on spare land and putting a Wacky Warehouse on the first floor. A spokesman said: "This would be a much bigger pub, and create 50 new jobs, both part-time and full time, for supervisors, bar staff and waiters. There is always opposition to change, but we don't think the building is listed and it looks as if it needs refurbishment."
(Extract courtesy of Sentinel newspaper 27/02/1998)

A HISTORIC pub has been given a reprieve from the bulldozers.
A Building Preservation Order has been placed on the Springfields Hotel in Trent Vale which means it cannot be touched for six months. Its future now rests with the Department of Environment which has until September to decide whether it should become a listed building. Campaigners fighting to save the premises - the oldest intact Georgian building in Stoke-on-Trent - have welcomed the decision. Mervyn Edwards from the Pub Preservation Society said: "We certainly hope the order will become permanent because this is a historical gem. It would be sheer vandalism to replace this with a fun pub. The order gives us time to come up with a permanent way of retaining the premises."
Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesman Terry James said: "We put the Building Preservation Order on because the hotel is the oldest intact Georgian building in the city built before 1775. All the exterior windows and brickwork are still in place and consequently we think the Department of Environment should consider whether or not to list it"
Allied Domecq Leisure hopes to pour more than £1 million into developing the site. It plans to demolish the building and replace it with a much bigger pub with a Wacky Warehouse for children on the first floor. The scheme would create 50 full and part-time jobs. A spokeswoman tor Allied Domecq said: "We believed the planning officers supported the application and we wouldn't have identified it as a site for development if it had been listed. We will now hold further talks with the planners and review the application."
(Extract courtesy of Sentinel newspaper 14/03/1998)

The pub re-opened in 2002, after internal alterations, as the Orange Tree.