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ONE of Liverpool’s worst eyesore pubs is being left to rot – because it is not in a regeneration zone.
Dickie Lewis’s, in Stopgate Lane, Walton, was named on Liverpool council’s top 10 hitlist of former pubs blighting communities.
Officials are demanding action against the fire-ravaged pub, which sits on the busy junction with East Lancs Road, a main route into the city.
But the building’s owner today revealed his plans to convert Dickie Lewis’s into apartments was knocked back by the council and a government planning inspector last year.
John Cummings, who also owns city centre nightclub Garlands, was told the site could not be used for flats because it does not fall into one of Liverpool’s housing renewal areas.
Housing officials want to restrict new property developments to specific parts of the city, including Anfield, Wavertree and Kensington.
Mr Cummings has now urged the council to accept a similar proposal for the pub, which he says is no longer commercially viable as a drinking venue.
He is backed by community leaders and residents from Walton and Norris Green, who say the boarded-up building is a magnet for vandals and arsonists.
Mr Cummings said: “We have financial documents showing there is no chance of a pub being successful on that site. The only reason our original proposal was turned down was that it is outside the housing renewal area. The fact that it is on a main route into the city does not seem to matter.
“We have support from local residents because there are continuous problems on the site, and we have spent thousands of pounds on security.”
Figures from Merseyside fire service show firefighters have been called to Dickie Lewis’s 21 times in the past year, almost once a fortnight.
Liberal councillor Steve Radford, who supports Mr Cummings’ proposal, said: “To keep a major eyesore on a big plot of land derelict just because it is not a housing renewal area is madness.
“This is clearly a deprived area, and I think refusing to allow the building to be developed is a breach of the council’s responsibility to community safety.”
A council spokesman said: “We had a limited amount of discussions with the owner about this building.
“The way forward is for him to talk to us in detail about what would be an appropriate development there.”
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