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Interested to see Nigel say "In fairness to J.D.'s, there are problems to overcome with the site spanning the River Dour as, since the river was awarded main river status, any planning application has to be submitted to the Environment Agency (Who are now responsible for the river under main river status) for their comments and it is they who have also played a major role in the delay in developing the Buckland Paper Mill site."
It was my impression from the plans on the last planning application that the river crossed diagonally under Castle Street and then ran down outside the end wall of Snoops, underneath the adjacent shop. I even went to have a look and the angle of the end wall to the pavement seemed to confirm that it formed the retaining wall for the river.
However, Nigel is bound to be right and I assume that the river percolates under Snoops as well. Indeed, I am well aware that a lot of basements occasionally flood further up the street as the cellar at Blakes has a problem with this. Also, I seem to remember reading that Castle Street was initially constructed as a raised causeway through a soggy field.
My interest was sparked by viewing the planning proposals. As Wetherspoons like to go for a bit of character in their developments, such as the converted church in Folkestone, it appeared to me that there was an opportunity to make the river a feature, flowing through the centre of the pub. It is little more than a stream so it is not beyond the bounds of possibility. A little bridge or two, a couple of rowing boats in a lagoon, etc. Just a thought.
I wonder if they ever intended to have two Wetherspoons so close together or whether the idea was to redevelop Snoops when the DTIZ came to fruition and the focus of activity correspondingly shifted, and then to close the present one down.
The grand DTIZ redevelopment plans now seem further away than ever, with Mr Aziz saying that even the paperwork is not due to be completed for another eighteen months let alone construction commenced. As this is merely the latest of ten years of forecasts of imminent development, one has to take this with a pinch of salt. Nothing happened in the years of plenty and now we are in a global recession and there is no money around. Also Morrisons have stolen a march on Asda and are building a big new supermarket bang in the centre of town. Will Asda, as the linchpin of the DTIZ, still be interested in pursuing these plans?
With no movement on the DTIZ remotely in the offing, one suspects that Snoops will merely continue to deteriorate for years to come. As Bern says, only a campaign to shame Wetherspoons into tarting it up is likely to have any effect.