The owners of ‘Britain’s wonkiest pub’ have been ordered to rebuild the iconic boozer to the same state it was before being gutted in an ‘arson attack’ and then demolished.
There was widespread fury when the Crooked House, an 18th-century boozer in the Black Country village of Himley, was ravaged by fire last August after being bought by a private buyer and then flattened without permission two days later.
The building had been sold by brewer Marston’s to ATE Farms Ltd, which at the time was controlled by glamorous former nail technician Carly Taylor, less than a fortnight earlier. The pub had been listed for sale for £675,000.
Today South Staffordshire Council announced an enforcement notice has been issued against the owners for its unlawful demolition of the site, which was on the Historic Environment Record as a building of local importance.
The notice requires the building ‘to be built back to what it was prior to the fire.’ It also specifies the materials which must be used to rebuild the property, famed for its sloping walls and floor which were caused by mining subsidence in the area.
The Crooked House went up in flames on August 5 after being bought by a private buyer and closed to the public. It was then demolished without permission on two days later
The iconic site will now be rebuilt to its former glory after an intervention by local officials
The building had been sold by brewer Marston’s to ATE Farms Ltd, which at the time was controlled by glamorous former nail technician Carly Taylor, less than a fortnight before being flattened
Ms Taylor pictured with her husband Adam
The council set a three-year compliance deadline for the building to be rebuilt.
Andy Street, the Tory West Midlands mayor, called for the property to be rebuilt ‘brick by brick’ in the aftermath of its demolition.
He welcomed the council’s decision and wrote on X: ‘An enforcement notice has been issued against the owners for its unlawful demolition.
‘They have been ordered to rebuild the pub back to what it was before the fire – just as we’ve been lobbying for. Fantastic work from South Staffordshire Council.’
Last month it emerged that Mrs Taylor, 35, had resigned from her position as director of ATE Farms Limited on 15 December.
Mrs Taylor is married to Adam, 45, who is shareholder and former director of Himley Environmental Ltd which runs a land fill site next to the pub.
Companies House records show Mr Taylor has now replaced his wife as ATE Farms’ sole director and person with significant control.
At the time of the blaze on August 5, the couple were said to enjoy regular foreign holidays.
Pictures on social media showed Mrs Taylor driving a Bentley, flying first class and posing outside the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.
The popular pub was famed for being the place where coins and marbles seemingly rolled uphill along the bar
Pictured: The interior of The Crooked House before the fire last year
The blaze, which was tackled by 30 firefighters, came just two weeks after the building was sold by pub company Marston’s to a private buyer for ‘alternative use’
A relative told MailOnline Mrs Taylor used to run her own beauty business in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, but had since become used to ‘living the high life’.
The family member added: ‘She seems to go here there and everywhere, judging by Facebook.’
Staffordshire Police has so far made six arrests in connection with the blaze, which it is treating as arson.
The five men aged 23, 33, 44, 51 and 66, and a 34-year-old woman were arrested between August and October and remain on conditional bail. The police investigation is ongoing.
Today’s enforcement notice is for the unlawful demolition of the building which is a breach of planning control under paragraph B.1(c) of Part 11 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015. It can be appealed within 30 days.
The council said it had ‘engaged with the owners since the demolition but has reached a point where formal action is considered necessary.’
A spokesman declined to comment further.
Police have so far made five arrests in connection to the suspected arson attack on the historic building
An aerial view of the site, which is in the middle of a patch of woodland
If the notice is appealed an Independent Planning Inspector will hear the case and the council will have to defend the serving of the notice.
The council said that if the notice is not appealed and not complied with within the time limit it will be considered that an offence has been committed. The authority can then prosecute for failure to comply with the notice.
Marco Longhi, the MP for Dudley North, said in a statement: ‘The demolition of the Crooked House shook our community here in Dudley and across the Black Country, so it’s fantastic news that an enforcement notice has been served on the owners for demolition without consent.
‘The Crooked House owners are now required to rebuild the site back to its former glory and I will not rest until the Crooked House is built back brick by brick.
‘Let this serve as a warning to anyone who wants to launch an attack on our heritage sites – you will not get away with it.’
Roger Lees, leader of South Staffordshire Council, said: ‘A huge amount of time and resources have been put into investigating the unauthorised demolition of the Crooked House. We have had great support from the local community, our MPs and the Mayor of the West Midlands, and from the campaign group whose aim is to see the Crooked House back to its former glory which is the key objective of the Enforcement Notice.
‘We have not taken this action lightly, but we believe that it is right to bring the owners, who demolished the building without consent, to account and we are committed to do what we can to get the Crooked House rebuilt.’
Specialist teams in white protective suits searching through the ruins of the Crooked House in order to remove any dangerous materials
The building’s foundations and brickwork were kept on site pending a rebuild
