Pub devastated by huge fire launches bid to rise from the ashes and return to Lutterworth

A Lutterworth pub gutted by a raging fire earlier this year has launched a bid to rise from the ashes and rebuild.

Fire crews were called to tackle a huge blaze at The Shambles Hotel, in Bell Street, back in February which had rapidly spread through the thatched roof of the 16th Century building.

The building was used as both a pub and five-room hotel and is also the home of landlord and landlady, George and Denise East. It has been closed since the devastating fire, which is believed to have started in a chimney stack and then spread to the thatched roof.

But now the owners have submitted a plan to Harborough District Council to restore the building and reconstruct the roof. A range of urgent works were identified by a team of specialists following the fire to ensure the building was safe enough to reuse, planning documents say.

As part of the plan, the applicant wants to reconstruct the thatched roof, restore the building inside and out, and remove its electrics. It also hopes to install new lighting and signs outside the pub.

The building is a Grade II-listed building and planning documents add the damage caused by the fire revealed that a lot of it had been rebuilt during the 20th century. This has meant the specialist team have adopted a “conservation-based philosophy”, which seeks to retain as much of the original parts of the building as possible, using “traditional materials and methods” to respect its “historic character”.

The proposals also hope to ensure the building is returned to its pre-fire appearance and make “no detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area” in which it sits. The applicant also wants to ensure the historic pub does not become a “long-term building at risk” and hopes to begin work as soon as possible so the pub can reopen.

Planning officials at the district council will now consider the application and a decision is expected by Monday, October 9. Local residents have the ability to submit their feedback on the plan via the council’s website and must do so by Tuesday, September 19.