'Old Stone fire station sold to brewery with historic links to the town' - Stone, Staffordshire, UK - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

The former fire station is located on Crown Street in Stone. It has now been renamed the 'Joules Fire Station'(May 2019)

A report about the old fire station in Stone written by Kerry Ashdown appeared on Staffordshire Live on 28th November 2018.
The report reads as follows;

'Old Stone fire station sold to brewery with historic links to the town
Hopes of turning neighbouring former fire station into town heritage centre have also moved a step forward.

A Stone landmark is set to showcase the area’s heritage after councillors agreed to sell it to a brewery with historic links to the town.
Joule’s Brewery submitted plans to create a flagship pub and community theatre on Crown Wharf to Stafford Borough Council in the summer.

And hopes of turning the neighbouring former fire station into a town heritage centre have also moved a step forward after Staffordshire County Council agreed to sell the site to Joule’s at a meeting this month.
Joule’s Brewery is now based in Market Drayton, but historically it was a Stone business until the 1970s. The firm has been working with Stone Town Council and Stone Revellers Theatrical Society on the Crown Wharf project.
Steve Nuttall, Director for Joule’s Brewery said this week: “We are delighted to have a deal agreed. It will be an important part of the new Joule’s taphouse and theatre, which we have proposed to build on Crown Wharf.
“We will landscape this site within the whole development to act as a gateway to the canal from Stone town centre. Our agreement with the town council is then to provide the building for use as a heritage centre, which we will sponsor by way of a subsidy, charging just £1 per year.
“The building is charismatic and it will form a part of the suite of buildings that will make up the new Joule’s footprint in Stone if planning is granted.
"It’s an extraordinary building which was once part of the original Joule’s footprint in Stone, opposite the Crown and Anchor yard, once the old Joule’s cooperage, adjacent to the Joule’s warehouse and bordering the original brewery site.’
Crown Wharf, located next to the canal, is currently used as a car park. But Stone Town Council, which runs the car park, has been bidding to turn the land into a community facility for a decade.
Final piece in the jigsaw
Councillor Rob Kenney, who has been working on the Crown Wharf project, welcomed the sale of the former fire station building.
He said: “This is the final piece in the jigsaw. We’re absolutely over the moon. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time now and it’s all coming to fruition.
“We haven’t got a heritage centre but we have so much heritage to put on show and lots of people want to share heritage. It’s also going to be used as an educational centre and we’re aiming for something to be open in 2020.”
County, borough and town councillor Jill Hood, who attended the county council meeting this month, said: “This is fantastic news and as Stone’s county councillor I’m thrilled to have played a part in securing the Old Fire Station.
“It’s such good news for the town and Stone is becoming an even greater tourist destination town for visitors and also the set up of new businesses.
"As a town councillor I’m looking forward to having premises as iconic as the Old Fire Station with the old drying tower visual to all in the town for our Heritage/ Visitor Centre, plus a new pub to add to the many quality real ale houses we have in the town.
“It’s a really exciting prospect for us all and Joules is coming home at last to where it first began.”

Type of publication: Internet Only When was the article reported?: 11/28/2018 Publication: Staffordshire Live Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: local News Category: Business/Finance

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