The Drysalters pub in Beeston could become a Costa drive-through coffee shop if planning permission is granted, but residents have set up a campaign to try and stop the development.
The pub has been a feature of the area for decades and is popular with both Leeds United and away fans on match days. It also hosts many formal and informal wakes as it sits across the Ring Road from Cottingley Crematorium as well as being a live music venue.
In their planning statement, the developers state that the pub’s owners have been unable to revive the business or sell the property as a going-concern and have sold the site for redevelopment.
The Save The Salters Facebook group has attracted over a thousand members since it was set up a week ago. The planning application has already attracted over 50 letters of objection.
Common themes in the objections are the loss of a community amenity especially to Cottingley Hall estate which lost its only pub some years ago. Objectors have also cite the drive thru Starbucks less than a mile away on the site of the woodman pub and the three Costa branches in the White Rose Shopping Centre. Another issue is additional pollution from cars idling on the premises.
One Cottingley resident, Kevin Wilson, said:
“Apart from the fact Leeds in general and this area of South Leeds (Cottingley/Beeston) does not need another drive through of any description let alone a coffee shop. Secondly the Drysalters pub is an important asset for the local community, football fans and attendees at the crematorium. The Drysalters is a well known public house in the area and wouldbe another sad loss. It MUST be preserved.”
You can find the full planning application on the Council’s website by clicking here. You can comment in favour or objecting until Wednesday 2 September 2020.
Photo: Google Streetview
