A cautionary tale for the Crooked House campaign

The community reacted furiously when the historic building was unlawfully razed to the ground, and the local authority took immediate action to get it rebuilt.

But this is not The Crooked House, but the Punch Bowl Inn in the Ribble Valley. And Councillor Stephen Atkinson's statement of defiance came not on the first anniversary of its demolition, but its third. And three years on, despite the owner being convicted and fined for knocking the pub down, despite Ribble Valley Council ordering that the pub must have been rebuilt by March 3 this year, and despite an appeal by the owner being thrown out by the planning inspectorate, a brick has yet to be relaid in the rebuilding process.

The Punch Bowl, in the village of Hurst Green, near Ribchester, could trace its origins back almost 300 years. It closed as a pub in 2012, and the Grade II listed building was put on the market the following year, but attracted little interest.

The building was eventually bought by Donelan Trading Ltd, of Wilpshire near Blackburn. Plans to redevelop the site as a 20-unit caravan park were rejected by the council, but the company was granted permission to locate 15 caravans in the grounds, and convert the pub into holiday cottages and a cafe.

Then on June 16, 2021, without permission, the pub was demolished without permission.

The following year, Andrew Donelan, then 60, his wife Nicola, 58, and daughter Rebecca, 28, were convicted along with two others for their part in the illegal demolition of a listed building. The Donelans claimed they acted out of concern for safety, after the pub became targeted by vandals and arsonists.

The council took enforcement action against the company, just as South Staffordshire Council did against Crooked House owner A T E Farms. And, as been the case with The Crooked House, the company lodged an appeal.

The appeal was rejected in March last year, and the Donelans were given 12 months to rebuild the pub. Four months since the deadline expired, the work has been yet to begin.

And in a striking similarity to the row over The Crooked House, the owners of the Punch Bowl have called for the building to be recreated in a different location.

The council has now applied to the High Court for an injunction which will force the owners to comply the order.

Head of legal services at the council, Mair Hill, said: "Throughout the period the council has endeavoured to ensure that this was complied with and has corresponded with, discussed in person and facilitated meetings on site.

"Notwithstanding these efforts the owner has failed to restore the building and maintains a position that any restoration of the building should be in a different position from its original site.

"This is not acceptable to the council and no evidence has been presented to the council to establish that it is not possible to comply with the enforcement notice."

It is not all bad news for the campaign to get The Crooked House rebuilt. In April 2015, the Carlton Tavern in Kilburn, London was unlawfully demolished by Tel Aviv-based Israeli property developer CLTX Limited, to make way for a block of flats above a new pub. Westminster Council issued an 'unprecedented' enforcement notice ordering the pub to be rebuilt exactly as it was. The developer duly complied, and the rebuild was completed in 2019.

But the saga of the Punch Bowl is a cautionary tale of the difficulties that may lie ahead in the battle to get The Crooked House rebuilt. There is little doubt that the public wants – and expects – the pub to be reinstated. But the long-running battle to get the Punch Bowl rebuilt – despite the Punch Bowl's listed status, and the criminal conviction in court of the Donelans – show that when faced with a seemingly intransigent owner, the wheels of justice can turn painfully slowly.