The Campaign for Pubs has added its support to the Crooked House campaign, calling for its unlawful destruction to be a catalyst for change.
Greg Mulholland, director of the Campaign for Pubs, joins campaigners at the Crooked House site, Himley
The shocking news of the fire and unlawful demolition of the historic and extraordinary Crooked House pub, in Himley, on the edge of the Black Country, rightly caused local, national, and international outrage.
The Campaign for Pubs was the first national group to call for the Crooked House to be rebuilt brick-by-brick, and West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, was quick to add his voice to this call.
The campaign has also written to the prime minister about the need for better protection for historic pubs.
Campaign director Greg Mulholland travelled to visit the site and met with the local campaigners fighting to have this iconic pub rebuilt. The campaign is now working with the Save the Crooked House group, offering support and advice.
The Crooked House — and the amazing local campaigners — need your support, and you can do this by signing their petition on Change.org.
“Giant pubco Marston’s, who had operated the Crooked House on one of their unfair tied leases, then sold it to a developer for well above the market value as a pub, knowing that this would lead to attempts to convert/demolish the pub,” said a Campaign for Pubs spokesperson.
“The subsequent fire (suspected by the police to be arson) and unlawful demolition are appalling, but the underlying problem is that uncaring and greedy owners can cynically sell off pubs for development at a much higher price than as a pub, and developers buy pubs ‘predatory purchasing’ them simply to close and redevelop them, against the wishes of communities, simply for selfish greed.”
They added: “We’ve called for tougher penalties for those who carry on unauthorised demolitions and conversions, and that the government should introduce a principle that any illegally demolished pub must be rebuilt, as happened at the Carlton Tavern in north London, thanks to the courage of Westminster City Council and, of course, passionate pub campaigners.
“What is really needed, though, to stop the cynical asset-stripping, is a simple change to planning law that means any pub 50 years old or more cannot be demolished or converted unless they have been properly marketed at the independently assessed value as a pub for at least a year. This is our Give Pub Protection policy.”
Greg Mulholland and the Campaign for Pubs’ pubs protection adviser, James Watson, went to Westminster to meet with Marco Longhi, MP for Dudley South, to discuss the Crooked House case and the need for wider planning reform.
The campaign was invited to meet Marco, to whom it copied the letter to the PM. Greg appeared on a special two-hour-long programme on the Crooked House and pub protection on Black Country Radio.
The spokesperson said: “We will continue to engage with pro-pub politicians of all parties to push for reform to Give Pubs Protection, and for proper support for pubs and publicans.”
• A man was arrested and released on conditional bail following an alleged assault at the Crooked House site last Saturday.
A man and woman were assaulted by a group of people while in the area. They got into a car but were obstructed. Then, the car collided with a woman at the scene. She was not seriously injured.
“Once they were able to drive away, the man and woman got in touch with us to tell us what happened,” said Staffordshire police. The woman was then taken to hospital for assessment. She was later discharged.
With regards to the pub fire, three men have been arrested in connection with the police enquiry, and released on bail.
