Owner of Stretford’s fire-damaged Robin Hood pub fined

As Manchester Developments waits a verdict from Trafford Council on its attempt to convert the derelict Stretford public house into housing, the company will have to pay £18,200 over failing to repair the structure.

The Robin Hood Public House sits on Barton Road and has been closed since 2018. It has been owned by Manchester Developments for more than six years.

Since then, the developer has submitted two applications to redevelop the site as housing. Both of those applications, which were submitted in 2020 and 2022, were withdrawn upon council feedback around the design of the proposals.

A third application was submitted in December and is still being reviewed.

The pub has been in poor condition for years, with the council serving a notice in 2024 to require Manchester Developments to better maintain the property, repair windows, and fix broken slates on the roof. The developer pled guilty to failing to comply with the notice and was find £1,635.

Then there was a fire in June. That, combined with the lack of repairs requested in 2024 being made, led the council to take the developer to court.

Magistrates agreed with the council and fined the company £18,200 and its director, Ali Zolghadriha, £21,890.

Cllr Liz Patel, executive member for economy and regeneration at Trafford Council, said: “Companies that own land and property have a responsibility to keep their sites tidy and in good repair. Failure to do so can be damaging and dangerous, often causing an eyesore and attracting anti-social behaviour…

“The council always seek to work constructively with owners to achieve compliance, but where notices are ignored, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action.”

Patel noted that the housing application from Manchester Developments was still live and would be reviewed in due course.

Under these latest plans, the pub building would be converted into three two-bed duplex apartments, two two-bed flats, and two one-bed ones. Much of the original façade would be retained and incorporated into the designs of these homes, with the basement turned into cycle storage and a possible future gym.

Fronting Urmston Lane would sit eight three-bed and three-bath townhouses designed by Studio Alt.

Access to the scheme would be from Ryecroft Road and there would be space for 23 cars to park.

Unlike its predecessors, this project utilises the original features of the pub, moves access from the busy Barton Road to the less congested Ryecroft Road, and keeps the basement as storage rather than living space.

Eden Planning is leading the application process for Manchester Developments. In addition to Studio Alt, the project team includes SCP, Acoustic & Engineering Consultants, Gary Miller Heritage Consultancy, Carley Daines and Partners, and Mulberry.

You can learn more about the application by searching reference 117939/FUL/25 on Trafford Council’s planning portal.

The Robin Hood Pub is not the only unused site drawing Trafford Council’s attention. The local authority submitted a formal notice requiring action to the owner of the former Altrincham North Lodge, part of the Pelican Inn site off Manchester Road.

Plans are being worked up to bring the 1930s mock-Tudor Pelican Inn building back into use, however there appear to be no such proposals coming forward for the lodge.