Express & Star

Crooked House campaigner calls for 'positivity' after wonky pub's owners are ordered to rebuild it

One of the leaders of a campaign to re-build the Crooked House has called for 'positivity not negativity' in the coming weeks.

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Paul Turner from the Save the Crooked House (Let's Get it Rebuilt) Facebook group has denounced people who have posted to say the pub would never stand again, nobody would use it and one on the group which read 'history belongs in the bin.'

Mr Turner said the group is "not interested in attention-seekers" and will adopt a "zero-tolerance policy" for "killjoys".

The comments came after the owners of the famous wonky pub were ordered to rebuild it on Tuesday when South Staffordshire Council issued an enforcement notice.

Mr Turner, who moderates the group which has over 36,000 members, said now was not the time to be negative, but to celebrate the good news received this week and to see what could be done towards the re-building process.

Paul Turner (right) with Dudley North MP Marco Longhi (centre) and campaigners at the site of the Crooked House. He has called for people to be positive and back the campaign to rebuild the pub

In a post online he said: "The vast majority of people here are in support of what we are trying to achieve, to get The Crooked House rebuilt.

"There are a few who get their kicks from winding us all up with posts saying things like 'it will never happen', 'it didn't make money as a pub before', 'nobody will use it' and other things like that.

"We welcome debate and we are happy for people to talk about the difficulties and challenges ahead.

"But we are not interested in attention-seekers looking for drama and will now be operating a zero-tolerance policy with instant bans for any person who clearly has a killjoy agenda."

Speaking to the Express & Star he said: "It is a bit of a waiting game because the owners have leave to appeal or might do nothing in the three years they have to re-build the pub, we don't know.

"But I prefer to be positive and welcome the good news we received this week and look to the future – we have always said the aim of the group is to get the Crooked House re-built and nothing will make us change that view or that intention so I hope people will support us in this goal."