Housing plans for fire hit Shotton social club site would be ‘no good’ for community

Plans to build houses on the site of a fire-ravaged social club in Shotton would be ‘no good’ for the community, it has been claimed.

Proposals have been submitted to Flintshire Council which could see 14 new homes created in place of the former Shotton Lane Social Club.

The building was hit by a large blaze in 2011 and the area has remained derelict ever since.

While it has been described as an ‘eyesore’ in the area, a town councillor believes that building houses would not be an appropriate use of the site.

Mike Evans, who represents the Shotton East ward, said: “Disappointing to read that outline planning permission to build 14 houses on the Old Shotton Lane Club Site has been submitted to Flintshire County Council.

“This will be no good for our community; the present infrastructure struggles to cope with what we have now.

“The traffic congestion on the lane is horrendous and the parking for our residents is very poor so please make your views known to me or any of the other councillors.”

Following the club’s closure in August 2010, it was originally earmarked to become an Islamic cultural centre.

However, those plans did not move forward after the fire and it was bought by a private owner.

Firefighters spent six hours tackling the blaze and more than 100 people were evacuated.

Members of the town council had previously voiced their hopes that a community centre could be created in the social club’s place.

Discussing his views on the site at the end of last month, Cllr Evans said: “The fire was eight years ago and the site is still an eyesore.

“We’ve got litter there scattered around, it’s got to be tidied up.

“A lot of people would like a community centre, something for people to enjoy again, or a cafe or drop in place.”

The full plans for the new homes have yet to be published on the Flintshire Council website.

However, the local authority said it was aiming to make a decision on the application by the end of March.

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).