Smithy Manor pub to be put back on the market in Sutton Manor

After plans to turn the former Smithy Manor pub into houses, offices, and five-a-side football pitches had failed, a planning application to turn the former pub into offices and a function room was finally accepted in August 2023.

Originally opened in 1959 and located on the edge of the old Sutton Manor coalfields, the Smithy Manor was a once vibrant hub and it would have changed the use of the site for the first time since the pub closed in 2015.

However, the landowner has informed the Star that he is putting the venue back on the market after "delays and restrictions" resulted in the company that agreed to take over the site to "pull the plug".

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Several attempts to regenerate the pub have failed (Image: St Helens Star)
Speaking previously to the Star, landowner David Shwenn said he has spent more than £15,000 installing fencing at the Smithy Manor due to the "constant fly tipping" around the Jubits Lane site.

The size of the site's entrance gates is something that was an issue in the recent planning application, and it was eventually agreed to lower the gates after planners describing their height as "unjustified".

Issues surrounding the number of car parking spaces, as well as cyclist and pedestrian access, also caused delays and the council ruled that construction could only commence between September and February due to the potential ecological impact on the surrounding greenbelt at Bold Forest Park.

The landowner says that restrictions and delays has 'cost him' (Image: St Helens Star)
These issues resulted in the planning application taking longer than usual to be accepted, although Mr Schwenn said that a Widnes-based firm, BV Communications, had agreed to take over the site to train new starters in the field of telecommunications.

However, the landowner said that the delays and restrictions associated with the site led the firm to back out of their agreement, which has led him to "give up" and put the site back on the market.

The landowner says he will put the site back on the market (Image: St Helens)
Mr Shwenn said: "Since taking over the Smithy Manor, I have ploughed my life savings into the site. I've refurbished the building and installed gates, and I remortgaged my house to have restrictions removed from the Coal Authority.

"But there have been so many constraints, restrictions, and delays on this site; it has been an absolute nightmare.

"The offices would have been a good thing and it would have brought jobs to the area, which is what I always wanted to do.

"But the delays have gone on for too long and the company that agreed to take over the site decided to pull the plug and stay where they are.

"This whole situation has really affected my mental health and I've just given up with it.

"The restrictions and delays have cost me, so I think it's time for someone else to take it over and try to do what I couldn't."

Mr Schwenn said he is likely to put the Smithy Manor on the market with estate agents Fleurets in the next 10 days. He says the land has been valued at over £1million.