Friends of the Old Library

PPPPPP

Well-Known Forumite
I'm lucky enough to be somewhat involved in this project, and also was very privileged to be able to take a tour of it yesterday. It really is a lovely space but it is going to need a LOT of TLC to repair the damage from being left to stand empty and unheated for so many years. I hope that the residents of Stafford get behind keeping this building as a public place.

Exactly the same is happening with the buildings they stopped using when Faulty Towers was opened. You'd think they'd want to keep the old bits in good condition so they can move back when Stafford Place is condemned in a few years, having cost us millions.
 

Feed The Goat

Well-Known Forumite
Nice bit of business this one.

Buy the building for £550k in 2012, then let it fall in to further disrepair. http://www.millarsandy.com/news/?page=18#list

Then flip it back on the market for £750k, when Stafford town centre property values have in fact fallen in this time.

When that fails, offer it to the friends of the library for a knockdown £650k, trousering a nice £100k in the process.

Me thinks its actual value is sub £500k
 

70-plus

Well-Known Forumite
I'm lucky enough to be somewhat involved in this project, and also was very privileged to be able to take a tour of it yesterday. It really is a lovely space but it is going to need a LOT of TLC to repair the damage from being left to stand empty and unheated for so many years. I hope that the residents of Stafford get behind keeping this building as a public place.
I think it will need a lot of money to buy it in the first place and then to renovate it. It is possible to bid for heritage funding in order to buy the building but anyone bidding would have to prove that they could keep the building going afterwards with revenue money. I think it is a tremendous idea to buy the building but the group will need a wealthy benefactor to assist with keeping the building running afterwards. Just a thought.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I think it is a tremendous idea to buy the building but the group will need a wealthy benefactor to assist with keeping the building running afterwards. Just a thought.
Like that nice Mr Carnegie, who funded it in the first place, only for it to be sold off after his death.....?
 

umarkmywords

Well-Known Forumite
I remember it well myself,and Itook my children there when they were little. All the display cases were alledgedly sent to stoke until such times as they would be returned-----NOT. It is as bad as the White Lion public house that was numbewred and taken down to be rebuilt, I remember one of the chaps on construction telling me had gone to the depot at Gailey, really, i wonder if it is still there??
 

Sir BoD

Well-Known Forumite
There was a letter in response to a piece about the White Lion in the Newsletter a few months back. I've got it in my head that it was from Armand Chatfield who mentioned that a builder from Shropshire(?) way used the bricks and wood for some building work near Onneley(?) / Betley(?) way. I've added the question marks as I'm really not too sure and an extensive Google search turns up nothing of the above to back me up. So it could have been all just a Dallas scene dream.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
There was a letter in response to a piece about the White Lion in the Newsletter a few months back. I've got it in my head that it was from Armand Chatfield who mentioned that a builder from Shropshire(?) way used the bricks and wood for some building work near Onneley(?) / Betley(?) way. I've added the question marks as I'm really not too sure and an extensive Google search turns up nothing of the above to back me up. So it could have been all just a Dallas scene dream.
I also have vague recollections of somebody recently claiming to know what happened to it, but I'm not aware of any official information from those actually charged with its safe-keeping. It's fairly likely that something along the lines of what you suggest must have happened, and fairly soon after it was "saved" for posterity.

I'm also convinced that a good few people must have known what happened, but decided to keep quiet about it at the time.
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
It woz nicked - of this we can be certain.

By whom, and whence it went we can be less so.

Somebody knows. - of this we can be certain.

But they that knows nicked it, so are certain not to tell.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
CAMRA said:
One of Stafford's most historic buildings, it was demolished for a road improvement scheme and the site now lies under The Green gyratory system. A planning condition was that the building should be carefully demolished for re-building elsewhere, but Stafford Borough Council sold the remains to someone building a fake 16th century farmhouse in a local village.

http://whatpub.com/pubs/STA/2976/white-lion-stafford - Note, real ale is not available.

Presumably, if the planning condition was not met, then the Council should have prosecuted themselves (us)..?
 
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