Can the Royal Oak be Saved?

This week, the Cheadle COG board and a couple of experts visited the Royal Oak on the High Street with selling agents Butters John Bee to consider future prospects for this iconic building.

The Royal Oak has stood empty now for almost two decades. A group dedicated to saving this building has been in existence for a number of years. They are called the Friends of the Royal Oak, and they’ve done a considerable amount of work attempting to bring the building back into use.

The Royal Oak is a sprawling building, with many rooms over three levels, plus a cellar and attic. It suffered during its time of being unoccupied. Vandals, water ingress, fire damage, and mould are all present and require remedial action to make the building usable.

Can it be fixed? Our experts and the selling agents thankfully think it can. Whether or not it can be done sympathetically and turned into some sort of going concern is an entirely different proposition. Planning has already been refused twice for it to be turned into accommodation, and many people wouldn’t want to live on a busy High Street so close to the road.

Previously, a couple of hotel chains have considered taking on the Royal Oak, but unfortunately, the number of rooms that could ultimately be created versus the cost involved to create them isn’t viable for them to take it forward.

The Foxlowe in Leek is a shining example of a local community working very hard over a long period of time to save an old building for public use.

They have a thriving café and shop, business accommodation, a men’s shed, and host many art, music, and other events. They did it a bit at a time, bringing back into use what they could while working on the rest. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t quick.

The Royal Oak is a listed building, sitting in a conservation area. The local authority has the power to enforce necessary action on that building and any others too. So should someone buy the building with leaving it empty in mind, all is not lost. See our article about how this works: https://www.cheadlecog.com/post/understanding-conservation-areas-in-staffordshire-moorlands-cheadle

Having seen the demise of the old Big Mill building in Leek in recent months following a deliberate fire, that is a real fear for the Royal Oak.

The big problems Cheadle faces currently are a lack of affordable community space and a poor nighttime economy. The Royal Oak was once used for both, with a colourful history, and halfway between Manchester and Birmingham made it a great place for visitors to stop. It could be the same again.

The expression "it takes a village to raise a child" in this case, it will take a community to raise a building; otherwise, it’s likely a developer will purchase it and attempt to leave it empty until it becomes viable or planning for development is granted.

Is there an appetite for local residents, businesses, and community groups to work together to secure its future? We hope so and encourage anyone interested to get in touch.

Cheadle has a long history of coming together and purchasing community buildings. The Guild Hall was purchased by local miners. The Leisure Centre was purchased by local people, and last week we were marking the fact that 90 years ago Cheadle purchased a Spitfire for the war effort.

We are a people who care, a people who work hard, and if people are motivated, they can do anything they set their minds to.

Can the Royal Oak be saved? - created 15th June 2026