Structural issues delay bid to sell former bar

A building in Melton Mowbray which has sat empty for more than a year after a bar was forced to shut will need closer inspections of structural issues before its future can be determined.

Charlie's Bar closed on New Year's Day 2025 after the leaseholder of the building in King Street, who sub-let it, handed the lease back to Melton Borough Council, which said it would cost the taxpayer too much to be the landlord.

The council had agreed to sell the building in December 2024 but, following "specialist surveys", the council has now put that decision on hold.

The council pledged to carry out further conservation surveys as it launched a consultation on its conservation plans in the town centre.

The authority is asking for residents, businesses, community groups and visitors to help update its Conservation Area Appraisal (CAA).

The CAA will outline the architecture and heritage of the area and be used to guide planning decisions and "how the borough understands, protects and celebrates the heritage and stories that make Melton such a distinctive and welcoming place".

Council leader Pip Allnat said: "Views will help us understand what matters and what should be protected."

Allnat added that it will sit alongside the council's wider heritage programme and help the Town of Culture 2028 bid.

When refreshed, the CAA will cover Egerton Park and the riverside parks around Play Close alongside the River Eye, and the core of the town centre around St Mary's Church, the Market Place, and nearby shopping areas - including part of King Street.

Here, the council has decided it should not sell the former Charlie's Bar building as while it is safe to enter, surveys have "identified long‑term structural movement".

Some £540,000 had been invested two decades ago into the site's restoration including a new roof and "extensive" internal repairs.

But a spokesperson for the council said: "These works kept the building safe and usable for more than a further 20 years.

"As with any building of this age, new issues can emerge, and current surveys show that further conservation assessment is now needed."

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