Councillors have voted against the installation of a plaque commemorating a woman who "saved" a historic Leek pub from potentially being demolished several decades ago.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council's planning committee met today (Thursday 11th August) to discuss the installation of a blue plaque on the Red Lion pub at Market Place.

There had been calls for the installation of a plaque to commemorate a group, spearheaded by a local resident called Janet Broome, who some claimed saved the pub and other nearby buildings from being demolished in the 1980s.

The pub, which was first built in the 17th century, is a Grade II listed building.

However, the application has been recommended for refusal by the district council's planning officers, who said there was no evidence that plans to demolish the pub had ever been entertained by the council.

The current mayor of Leek, Cllr Bill Cawley, submitted a letter in support of the proposals, saying that the pub would've been gutted and attached on to part of a planned shopping centre as part of the unsuccessful plans.

He said: "It was an appalling mistake to have even conceived such a plan and one wonders what Leek would now look like if the plan had been successful with a 1980s half empty, derelict shopping mall."

But a report by the council's officers said: "Overall, no evidence has been found or has been brought forward that the campaigner 'saved' the building from redevelopment proposals. Comments provided informally by former Council officers have indicated that there was never any realistic prospect of demolition of the Red Lion and that such a proposal would not have been entertained by the Authority."

Overall, councillors felt there was not enough evidence that the pub was "saved" in order to warrant a plaque.

However, they also noted that there were many nearby, less historically significant buildings that a plaque could be affixed to without the need for planning permission, and suggested this as a possible alternative.

Councillors voted to refuse the proposal.

You can watch the meeting in full on the district council's webcast portal on its website.