Historic Melton building 'unlettable' due to 'shocking state' it is in
Melton Borough Council say the ongoing vacancy of the town’s oldest secular building was because it was currently ‘unlettable’ due to it being in ‘a shocking state’.
Frustration has been voiced by many on social media because 5 King Street – a grade two listed building – has sat empty for more than a year since the closure of the popular Charlie’s Bar there.
Charlie Donovan leased the property for her bar until licence holder, BeerHeadz, decided to relinquish the lease at the end of 2024.
The borough council, which owns the building, decided to sell it to raise funds for services but a planned auction last year never took place due to serious structural issues with it.
Councillor Sarah Cox (Labour), cabinet member for corporate finance, property and resources, told the latest full council meeting that further grant support would be needed to make the building viable to sell.
She said the state of the building was a surprise because more than half-a-million pounds in funding had been secured by the previous Conservative administration to spend on it.
Councillor Cox told members: “Inspection of the building, once the leaseholder had relinquished it, identified there had been structural issues which meant it could not progress to sale.
“To obtain the funding to progress sympathetic repairs to the building, additional grant funding now needs to be sought.
“I have deep concerns that this building was awarded a substantial grant of over £540,000 under the last administration and yet the structural integrity of the building has not been maintained.
“I’m seeking answers as to what that money was spent on.”
Councillor Cox said the borough council’s limited financial resources meant it was not ‘the most appropriate custodians of this building’. Parts of it date back to the 14th century.
“That building is a real historic asset to the town,” she said.
"Our concern is how much money is needed to maintain the integrity of that building and the shocking state it has been left in.
“What we are now doing is looking at the heritage strategy of the town and looking for alternative grant funding.
"it’s going to be a difficult ask, though, because we’ve already had £540,000 for this building.”