From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Sean Delaney, 21 February 2020.

Man taken to hospital after air ambulance called to crash on A226 London Road, near Stone.

A motorcyclist has been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after he crashed in to a lorry last night.

The collision happened on the A226 London Road, near Stone in Dartford soon after 10pm.

Police and the South East Coast Ambulance Service attended the scene at the junction of Tollgate Road, near the Welsh Tavern Pub.

An air ambulance was also called, landing at the nearby Stone Recreation Ground.

Paramedics assessed a 19-year-old man for injuries before he was taken to a London hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition.

Three fire engines were also in attendance and crews worked to make the scene safe.

It comes just months after a man was killed on the same stretch of road when his car collided with a parked lorry.

Officers are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.

Investigating officer PC James Galbraith said: "We would like to hear from any witnesses to the incident and any residents in the area who may have CCTV that covers the road.

"We are also appealing to drivers who were travelling along London Road at that time who may have dashcam footage of the motorcycle prior to the collision."

Call the appeal line on 01622 798 538 or email sciu.td@kent.pnn.police.uk quoting DB/JG/014/20.

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Sean Delaney, 4 September 2022.

Future of 184-year-old Welsh Tavern pub in London Road, Stone, at risk.

The future of a nearly 200-year-old pub remains uncertain after its owners put the historic venue up for sale.

It's been serving loyal customers and passing trade in Stone since 1827 but the Welsh Tavern may have called last orders for the final time.

In recent months the pub in London Road, near Dartford, has been shut and boarded up after the former landlord and landlady opted out of renewing their lease.

Leisure property specialists Fleurets, acting on behalf of the Stonegate Pub Group, has put the pub up for sale with a price tag of £595,000.

New owners have been secured, subject to contract, but until further details emerge it is unsure whether it will remain in its current usage.

And according to the sale listing, the venue is "suitable for alternative use", subject to planning permission.

The two-storey pub is described as a "substantial detached public house" with a large beer garden, close to Bluewater Shopping Centre and Dartford town centre.

It's housed inside an unlisted period building with "ground floor single-storey extensions to the side and rear" with "painted external elevations under pitched slate tiled roofs".

As a former coaching inn on London Road used by drovers of sheep and other livestock, the boozer has a long history of serving weary travellers their favourite tipple.

In 1781, the tollhouse erected at "John's Hole Turnpike" was pulled down and a new one erected close to the pub, which became a stopping-off point.

An auction listing from 1837 describes it as "a capital inn with coach house, stables and granary, tap room, kitchen bar, two parlours, two dairy rooms, and two good chambers and four excellent chambers".

The pub was purchased by the Miskin Brewery of Dartford before being taken over in 1875 by Colonel Charles Newman Kidd, of Westhill House, for the sum of £1,300.

Its just the latest in a long line of pub closures across the town in recent years with the "Fulwich" in St Vincents Road having been converted into a B&B.

More recently, both The "Bridges" at Horton Kirby and the "Papermakers Arms" in Hawley Road, Sutton-at-Hone, have now permanently closed.

Further a field, the "George and Dragon" in Swanscombe, another historic coaching inn, has also shut permanently and could be turned into a pizza takeaway.

Thousands of pubs across the county are braced for a difficult winter amid soaring energy prices, mortgage costs and food prices.

It comes as businesses attempt to recover from the fallow years of the pandemic which saw trade dampened by widespread restrictions.

Historian Christian Bull said the continuing trend of pub closures was not surprising given those pressures but was a real loss for the community.

He said: "It is very regrettable to learn of another public house that can't make a living and I think part of that is probably the companies which they belong to.

"They want to make bigger profits out of a shrinking industry where people prefer to buy out of a supermarket.

"Some are like vampires, they squeeze the life blood out of them."

Mr Bull hosts various historical talks in Gravesend and the surrounding areas of north Kent including "Stone: The tale of the incredible shrinking parish".

"I greatly regret it has happened in a place like Stone which is fighting for its identity," he added.

He fears it is being increasingly "gobbled up" by Dartford and points to how the parish has shrunk from 3,000 acres to just over half that size in recent years.

The historian believes pubs still have a vital role in the future and hopes many like the "Welsh Tavern" and "George and Dragon" can be saved, or at least retained as some form of community asset.

"Pubs are one of the many things that create good mental and community health," he said. "They are all part of the jigsaw of a healthy social life."

A spokesman for Stonegate Pub Partners said: “We can confirm that the incumbent tenant of the "Welsh Tavern" has made the decision not to renew their lease and we have taken the property back.

"It is currently closed while we review the next steps for the pub.”

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Keely Greenwood, 8 March 2023.

The Welsh Tavern pub in London Road, Stone, could become flats.

Plans have been put forward to demolish a pub in Dartford and turn it into flats.

The Welsh Tavern in London Road, in Stone, Dartford could be bulldozed and replaced with eight two-bedroom and six one-bedroom flats with off-road parking and a new access road.

The pub, which has been boarded up since closing last September, is described on the planning application as an "unlisted period building" and it has been serving locals for 184 years.

Councillor Kelly Grehan said: "There is strong feeling about the building, given its historic role in the town.

"I'm very worried about the building sitting, boarded up for decades now the pub is closed, like some others in the town.

"But equally I share concerns other have about ploughing ahead without thought to the need for additional infrastructure. So I hope those with concerns will register them."

The pub closure is just the latest in a long line of pubs shutting their doors across the town in recent years, with the "Fulwich" in St Vincents Road having been converted into a B&B.

More recently, both The "Bridges" at Horton Kirby and the "Papermakers Arms" in Hawley Road, Sutton-at-Hone, have now permanently closed.

Further afield, The "George and Dragon" in Swanscombe, another historic coaching inn, has also shut permanently and could be turned into a pizza takeaway.

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Alex Langridge, 6 May 2023.

Flats plan for The Welsh Tavern, London Road, Dartford, withdrawn.

Proposals to demolish a pub and build a block of flats have been withdrawn.

Applicants Mr and Mrs Mandeep Sandha had applied for outline planning permission to bulldoze The Welsh Tavern in Dartford.

They wanted to replace the former business with an apartment block of 14 flats with eight two-bedroom and six one-bedroom units.

If approved, it would have seen off-road parking, bin and cycle stores and a new access road created.

Speaking when the plans were first submitted, Cllr Kelly Grehan (Lab) said: "There is strong feeling about the building, given its historic role in the town.

"I'm very worried about the building sitting, boarded up for decades now the pub is closed, like some others in the town.

"But equally I share concerns other have about ploughing ahead without thought to the need for additional infrastructure. So I hope those with concerns will register them."

The London Road pub has been boarded up since closing last September and is described on the planning application as an "unlisted period building".

The proposed elevations for the apartment block. Picture: H Channa.

Before it closed the popular public house had been serving locals for 184 years.

But, the design and access statement said for the pub to again be successful it would require capital investment, the ability to serve hot food and with interests rates rising it is difficult to find investors.

It added: “We believe that this proposed development is one that is of a well-considered and high-quality design. It is befitting of the local character area, and will make a positive contribution to the existing local area.

“We trust that the Local Authority will appreciate the work and efforts undertaken by the applicant and consultant team in order to produce these well considered proposals.”

Yet before the borough council could make a decision on the scheme, the application was withdrawn.

It is not yet known why the decision was made.