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From the
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Jack Dyson, 23 December 2022.
'Rotting' Sturry pub to be transformed into new restaurant near Canterbury.
A village’s last-remaining pub could have crumbled to the ground in
10 years’ time if it was not snapped up by a Turkish restaurant
chain, bosses claim.
Aspendos owner Necati Gunes bought the Middle of the Road – which
was also equipped with a hair-cutting business – near Canterbury for
£535,000 towards the end of last year.
One of the owners of Aspendos, Nick Gunes, stood outside the former
pub in Sturry, near Canterbury.
Plans to transform the old Sturry boozer that dates back to the
1600s were last month given the green light, almost a year since
papers were submitted to the city council.
But now Mr Gunes “regrets” having purchased the Grade II-listed
building, as he will not be able to fully open his new venture until
the site’s rotting joists are replaced.
“The building is in a very bad state – it needs major, major work,”
he told KentOnline.
"At the moment, we’ve got temporary metal frameworks in place to
stop it collapsing.
“We didn’t realise it was in this shape when we bought it – it was
all hidden behind plasterboard.
“Do I regret buying it? Yes, I do.”
A report compiled by structural engineers lodged with the local
authority states “the majority of the oak joists in the main
building have significant deterioration through rot and insect
attack”.
It adds the “condition of the first floor should be considered to be
structurally compromised”.
Mr Gunes expects to fork out as much as £400,000 on refurbishing the
former tavern.
The 46-year-old hopes to launch the takeaway arm of the business at
the end of January, once work to transform the Middle of the Road’s
former barber shop into a kitchen is completed.
The 78-seat eatery will then be launched in the summer.
“We want to start earning money from the takeaway side,” Mr Gunes
added.
“Financially we have struggled a lot because of the delays to the
decision. That building has cost me £3,500 every month.
“We’ve had to pay the mortgage and the rest of it, while turning
nothing from the site.
The floor joists within the Sturry building are said to be rotting.
“If we didn’t get that building, then in five or 10 years’ time,
that building could have collapsed.”
The restaurant magnate – who runs 11 other sites across Kent –
previously said his eatery, serving a range of kebabs, mezzes and
seafood dishes, will employ between 20 and 25 people.
This comes as the former "Swan Inn" in Sturry High Street continues to
sit empty in the centre of the village, having called last orders
for the final time in 2011.
A decision on proposals put forward by private school King’s to
restore the alehouse to its former glory, while also opening a
bed-and-breakfast on the site, has not yet been made.
This is despite the fact the revival bid was launched last January.
Earlier this month, villagers complained there are “fewer and fewer
places for people to meet" in Sturry, after plans to transform the
old Kathton House restaurant into homes were revealed.
But Mr Gunes's brother Nick - who also owns the firm - insists
locals will be able to congregate at his enterprise’s bar for
drinks.
“People are more than welcome to come in, sit down and have a
drink," he said.
"We're taking about six months to create the restaurant because we
don't want to rush it."
Canterbury City Council gave plans to transform the old Sturry pub
into an Aspendos restaurant the go-ahead last month.
The Middle of the Road, perched on the triangular junction between
the A28, Mill Road and Water Lane, dates back to the 17th century.
It is thought to have become the "Welsh Harp" in 1866 - a name it kept
until 2014.
It later became known as "The Pub," and was later rebadged as the
"Middle of the Road" in 2017, soon after which its dining room was
converted into a barber shop. |
