Earlier this month we ran a story on the Carlton Tavern, a much-loved local pub in Kilburn which was demolished without warning, or, in fact, permission. The owners, CLTX, had bought the pub only to find that Westminster council would not approve its plan to replace it with a new block of flats; and, with the threat that the pub could soon be listed looming, it decided to take matters into its own hands.
Many people were, quite rightly, outraged by this, and a popular response was that CLTX should be forced to rebuild the pub to atone for its flagrant disregard for council permissions and common human decency:
Well, we’re delighted to report that Westminster council seems to have taken your feedback on board. From today’s Evening Standard:
The owners of a historic London pub who triggered outrage by demolishing it without permission are to be ordered to rebuild it brick by brick.
Council chiefs will next week issue an unprecedented enforcement notice to the firm that owns the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale requiring it to “recreate in facsimile the building as it stood immediately prior to its demolition”.
The enforcement notice, which also confirms that the developers won’t be able to sell the site until they’ve restored it to its former glory, is due to be approved by the planning committee next Tuesday. CLTX is planning to appeal the decision.
As far as we can tell, this is the first time a UK council has ordered a property company to rebuild a building of this size, despite the fact that illegal demolitions are a relatively common tactic used by companies to speed up the planning process. Let’s hope this landmark decision acts as a warning to others.
