Boost for real ale fans as Goal Post pub plan faces boot

Plans submitted by Asda to redevelop the Lounge 107, formerly The Goal Post have been recommended for rejection by Wolverhampton Council's planning chiefs tonight.

Mike Antoszkiewicz, chairman of Wolverhampton CAMRA, said the likely rejection of ASDA's application was "fantastic news.

"We want as many pubs to stay open as can. Pubs are a centre of the community and places where people go," he said.

"Now we want everybody to go and support the pub, and for the owners to put some real ales in. The reason why it's probably closing you need more people going in there."

Mr Antoszkiewicz was keen to praise the council, saying: "Wolverhampton's one of the few councils that do recognise that some of these buildings need to stay put as pubs. Old people go and meet in them - they need to be saved. We're working together. The council want to help us as far as they can."

But Councillor Zahid Shah, who represents St Peter's Ward in which the pub sits, reacted angrily, saying: "The reason for the sale was because they were struggling to survive.

"If the building gets boarded up because they can't do any business what's going to happen then? You'll have squatters, druggies, vandalism. Is that going to be better?

"The petrol station would have created permanent jobs, up to 10 jobs locally. St Peter's ward has the highest rate of unemployment in Wolverhampton, and one of the highest in the UK. It would have created 10 jobs locally for unemployed people. The council has taken that away."

Councillor John Rowley, who sits on the planning committee and is a member of CAMRA, said: "I and some other colleagues are concerned that pubs are no longer shutting down because they are uneconomic but because the owners have decided they can get a better yield out of the pubs if they are supermarkets.

"From what I know, this pub has some economic merit and is of architectural value, and the planning committee will be weighing these factors. I want to see valued community pubs retained."

The pub, which sits on the corner of Waterloo Road and Staveley Road opposite the Molineux stadium, is an old matchday favourite for Wolves fans and is one of few match-day options remaining after the Wanderer was demolished and the Feathers was taken over by Wolverhampton University student union.

Roger Lawrence, St Peters ward councillor and leader of Wolverhampton council, was among those opposing plans to demolish the pub.

The pub's owners and management were unavailable for comment.

The planning committee will make a final decision on the Goalpost's fate on Tuesday next week.

The planners' report lists ten reasons to reject the plan, among which are the building's heritage value and the likelihood of traffic problems.