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More than four years after it shut down - nearby residents want action taking on a once bustling pub , which is now just a derelict eyesore.
The Memory Lane on Derby Road is boarded up, fenced off and there have been incidents of vandalism - even rumours that people have squatted in there.
Owners Atlas Associates, based in Barwell, Leicestershire, say it is still trying to sell the site, but could not say how close it is to finding a buyer.
But now Derby Road residents, who live opposite the site say it is about time a developer steps in to renovate the land.
Retired Derek Nicholls said: “It ought to come down now.
“It could do with some flats or something in it, people need homes don’t they, not derelict pubs.”
Mr Nicholls, 73, said the pub used to be a popular venue.
“They used to do really good meals in there, there used to be plenty of pubs down here - but the Cross Keys has Gone now and so has the Nottingham House. You used to be able to do a crawl down this road!”
Karen Linford, 48, who works in fireplace showroom MD and BW Buxton, next door to the Memory Lane is hoping any buyer does not use the site for housing.
She said: “I don’t think this road could take any more traffic, it’s a busy road, so we can’t have more cars coming out of a new estate.
“To me they should do something for children. Anything. There’s not a lot round here, especially for teenagers.”
Brenda Bunting, 65, and also retired said that the area is crying out for a car park as people on Derby Road have nowhere to put their cars.
But painter and decorator Gary Worton, 29, who lives slightly further up the road, hopes that developers will consider reopening the Memory Lane as a venue.
He said: “We haven’t heard anything about what’s happening there - it would be good if they decided to open as a pub again.”
Back in November 2011, a Karwan Maged of Uttoxeter New Road, Derby, applied to Amber Valley Borough Council to turn the site into a temporary hand car wash and valeting service.
The plan was successful, but the car wash never opened. The temporary planning permission is due to expire in June and Mr Maged could not be contacted.
Work is also yet to start for seven new homes nearby at the former Cross Keys pub.
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Weather for Ripley
Thursday 23 May 2013
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