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News
Crooked House owners appeal order to rebuild wonky pub
Having been issued with an enforcement notice to rebuild The Crooked House pub after it was destroyed last summer, the owners of the site have now lodged an appeal.
The ongoing saga of The Crooked House in Staffordshire has taken plenty of twists and turns, garnering significant media attention in the process.
Placed on the market in March last year, the pub was sold to ATE Farms in the summer, and then caught fire shortly after in early August. Then, shortly after, a demolition team moved in and knocked down the skew-whiff walls that remained, sparking outcry and prompting South Staffordshire Council to dictate that the bricks from the pub had to remain on site. A police investigation was launched into whether the fire that broke out in the pub, first built in the 18th century as a farmhouse, was actually arson.
Last month, local MP Gavin Williamson called for what was left of the pub to be made an Asset of Community Value and said: “I’m hoping to provide the opportunity for the re-building to take place. What happened here will not be forgotten, and we’re doing all we can to bring back an important piece of Staffordshire heritage.”
Things moved quickly from there.
On 27 February, South Staffordshire Council issued an enforcement notice concerning the “demolition of an unlisted building” without “planning permission”. The notice stipulated that it was a requirement for “the building to be built back to what it was prior to the fire”, and that the “time for compliance is three years from 27 February 2024”. ATE Farms was given a 30 day window to appeal against the notice.
ATE Farms has indeed appealed the enforcement notice. Their argument against rebuilding the pub, will be heard by an independent planning inspector.
A statement from the council issued yesterday (27 March) in response to the appeal said: “We are now awaiting a date for the appeal and the appointment of a planning inspector. There is no further information available at this time and we will issue an update when we have more information.”
Among those critical of the appeal was the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Pub and club campaigns director Gary Timmins called the news “concerning albeit fully expected”.
“The complete destruction of the Crooked House shocked the nation and struck a chord with the public, exposing a wider scandal of potentially unlawful pub conversions and demolitions. The appeal is a mockery of all the hard work put in by dedicated campaigners who championed for the pub’s future,” he said, calling for a need for “accountability” concerning the loss of the pub.
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