It would seem that this nice chunk of Bath Town Centre on Broad Street has been part of the vacant Smith empire since 1986. The brewery have told Bath and North East Somerset Council that the freehold is held by an investment company based in the West Country, but that they have a long leasehold. (I wonder if this is a reference to Island Trustees SW Ltd). The private school moved out in 1986 and the grade II* listed building has been allowed to slowly decay ever since. A planning application for pub use came to nothing when in 1997 Bristol Crown Court upheld the refusal of a pub licence. By 2002 there was a scheme for a hotel but this stalled, only to be resurrected very recently.
Not surprisingly, just like the people of Bristol, SSOB have generated much local anger due to their habit of sitting on prime boarded-up real estate and cavalier attitude towards local feelings. I understand the building is on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk register.
http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Backlash-city-centre-pub-plan/article-1873788-detail/article.htmlPS It's interesting that all planning applications have been in the name of Samuel Smith Old Brewery. Bath Brewery Company.
Further, in a council report dated 24th January 2007 it was stated that in SSOB's view the council would not have a good case for a possible CPO 'and point to a recent unsuccessful case brought by another council against their company resulting in considerable costs against that Authority'. Nice - I wonder if that was Bristol?
