These dramatic pictures show fire ripping through a derelict pub in Worcester.
Firefighters were called to Perdiswell House, a former Harvester, in the early hours of Saturday morning (July 16).
The restaurant in Droitwich Road, Claines, closed its doors in April 2019 after owners Mitchells & Butlers decided to sell up. They’d invested in a major refurbishment only three years earlier.
READ MORE: Fire at former Harvester pub, Perdiswell House in Worcester
Since then, controversy has surrounded the future of the site.
Plans for a McDonald’s drive thru were withdrawn in November 2019 after facing opposition from hundreds of residents.
Earlier this year, plans were submitted to knock down the dilapidated building and replace it with a 78-bedroom care home.
READ MORE: Eyesore former pub could be demolished to make way for care home
The plans, by care home provider MACC Group, have drawn a mixed reaction from residents.
Some question the need for another care home in the area following the opening of The Belmont care home in John Comyn Drive, off Droitwich Road, in February.
Mixed reaction to care home plans
Others say the Harvester site is a more suitable location than other care home plans, including one to build a 70-bed building on land known as the Donkey Field, off Northwick Road.
A number of residents have suggested the front of Perdiswell House, which was built in 1841, should be retained and incorporated into the design of the new building.
READ MORE: Controversial plan for new care home in Worcester attracts 170 objections
However, developers believe the number of changes made to the site over the years show no evidence that the building is either a heritage asset or is “noteworthy of protection or safeguarding”.
The plans themselves include the provision of 31 car parking spaces including two disability spaces, plus parking for six bicycles.
A spokesperson for Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that no-one was hurt in the fire at the weekend.
Crews from Worcester, Droitwich, Malvern, Pershore, Bromsgrove and Pebworth attended at about 2.30am on Saturday, using six fire pumps and an aerial platform to put out the fire.
They left the scene in the hands of police and said fire investigators were trying to work out what started the blaze.
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