Abbey Ward councillors are demanding enforcement action over the shocking state of the former Thimblemill pub site. Councillor Steve Eling said, “We are getting complaints almost daily about the shocking state of this property. It is literally falling down with decay, it has been hopelessly vandalised, there has been a pathetic attempt to secure the building, it has been the subject of fly tipping and local residents say squatters are living in there. If something isn't done we are likely to find we have a tragedy on our hands if the building is set on fire or floors collapse. I have now had an assurance that the property will be demolished “sometime in the next four weeks”, but if that is not done I will expect council officers to take legal proceedings against these owners. “
The site has got planning consent to build an elderly persons home, but councillor Bob Piper added, “If this is the contempt with which they treat local people now, what confidence can we have that they are going to build anything which is sympathetic to the area when they build their care home? In any event, we will not be happy if they just demolish the pub, they need to properly secure the site to ensure it doesn't just become a haven for fly-tippers, and failure to do so should result in court action.”
The Bearwood Blog 
well done for attempting to do something positive lets hope you are successful
Well said Bob PIper…..I go past the site twice daily and it is such an eyesore…….
We will keep up the pressure on this. The owners have no excuse now that planning permission is in place. We will also want to know that the site will be secure; the new development started; and the site not just left as a blot on the landscape.
HI BOB GREAT THAT YOU AND YOUR FELLOW COUNCILLORS ARE TRYING TO SORT OUT THE OLD MILL SITE . MY GRIPE IS THE LAUNDRY IN BEAKES ROAD .WE HAVE PUT UP WITH THIS BLOT ON THE LANDSCAPE FOR OVER 10 YEARS NOT 18 MONTHS LIKE THE MILL .WE HAVE BEEN TOLD TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT THE COUNCIL CAN DO NOTHINK BEACAUSE IT IS A PRIVATLY OWNED SITE .HOW IS IT YOU CAN DO SOMETHINK OBOUT THE MILL AND NOT THE LAUNDRY .
I think the difference is that the Beakes Road site is relatively secure, unlike the pub which is not just unsightly, but dangerous too. Having said that, we would be more than delighted to see a planning application to build homes or almost anything else on the site of the old laundry. The council doesn’t own it, but if there is someone out there who wants to suitably develop it I for one would gladly support it.
Thimblemill absolute dive
Avery sports ground,wasteland
Stanhope Road Laundry ,wasteland
Two Brewers,Empty Houses
Londenderry,wasteland
Queens Head, Dive
All in a 1 mile radius,and yet they want to build more houses on the GKN,the whole area is a joke at the moment……………
Well, of those, only The Thimblemill is in our Ward, and that will be demolished within the month and an elderly Pearson’s care home built. Having said that, I agree entirely that there are plenty of sites available for developers without having to destroy the woodland, Smithy.