Clock Face pub bosses issue statement on landmark site's future

The  Clock Face Hotel was listed for sale last year and last month the Star reported on proposals seeking permission for a refurbishment and extension of the building, with the aim of turning the landmark into a special needs school.

A CGI in the planning application (Image: DV Architects (St Helens Council Planning Portal))

The plans are to create a new SEND school for 54 students, with the project also including the demolition of outbuildings on the site, landscaping, parking and other associated works at the Clock Face Road location. 

The planning application is still to be decided upon.

However, pub bosses have posted a statement on social media, expressing that the venue will stop serving food later this month and that it could close the following month.

The last day of service for food will be March 17.

The statement, posted under the authorship of Sam & Elaine and all The Clock Face team, read: "It's with our deepest regrets that as of the March 18, we will be closing our kitchens permanently.

"We will no longer be taking food bookings or accepting food orders from this date.

"As for the pub itself, we do not have a finalised date of closure yet. But we expect it to be sometime around the end of April.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers, old and new, for their support throughout the years and a thank you to the community for all their support, whether as customers or sharing our posts and reaching more and more people."

Plans for the special school were sent in by applicants Bright Futures Care Ltd.

The proposals led to a mixed response on social media.

On the Star’s social media channels, several readers welcomed the proposals, and said that special needs education facilities are “much needed” in the town.

However, others have lamented the potential loss of a landmark pub, which has been a hub of the Clock Face community over the years.