CAMRA NI wants new laws to protect and rebuild pubs following the demolition of Finn MacCool’s pub in Bushmills last month
CAMRA NI is calling on the Executive to bring in new laws to require that pubs are rebuilt brick by brick where they have been demolished without planning permission.
The campaign group representing pubgoers across Northern Ireland says that pubs must be protected from unlawful conversion and demolition because of their unique community value. Developers found to be flouting the rules should be forced to turn buildings back into pubs or rebuild them brick by brick.
The call comes after the demolition of Finn MacCool’s pub in Bushmills – a listed building which was razed to the ground last month without planning permission.
Unlawful demolition or conversion of pubs is now higher in the wider public consciousness, after the tragic case of the Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire, nearly two years ago. Across all these islands, we need robust planning protections for pubs and strong enforcements powers where developers have flouted the rules.
Commenting, Director of CAMRA NI Ruth Sloan said:
“Pubs are key parts of our culture and our social fabric. They are vital community assets and deserve to be properly protected.
“The case of Finn MacCool’s pub in Bushmills being demolished without permission has shone a light on how developers can flout planning rules and protections. In other parts of these islands, councils can force developers who have flouted rules to rebuild pubs brick by brick. This should be the case here too.
“CAMRA NI want Causeway Coast and Glens to require the former Finn MacCool’s building to be rebuilt and reinstated as a pub. We also want the Infrastructure Minister and the Executive to strengthen planning laws so that councils must hold unscrupulous developers accountable by forcing them to reinstate pubs that have been converted or demolished unlawfully.”
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Notes to editors
Find out more about CAMRA NI here.
A copy of CAMRA NI’s letter to the Infrastructure Minister is available below:
Liz Kimmins MLA
Minister for Infrastructure
James House
2-4 Cromac Avenue
Belfast
BT7 2JA
via email: info@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk
30 May 2025
Dear Minister Kimmins,
Re: Finn MacCool’s public house, Bushmills, 124-126 Main Street, Bushmills, BT57 8QD
I am writing from CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) NI. We are a not-for-profit consumer organisation representing pubgoers across Northern Ireland.
Pubs are vital parts of our culture and social fabric, offering a place for communities to meet and to enjoy a drink responsibly in a regulated environment. They are key to tackling loneliness and social isolation as well as being an important part of local and visitor economies.
CAMRA campaigns to support and save pubs (and social clubs), and we take a keen interest in planning matters.
The recent demolition of Finn MacCool’s public house (Bushmills, 124-126 Main Street, Bushmills, BT57 8QD) which we believe happened without planning permission, has meant that a community has been deprived of a social hub. This incident has also brought into question whether planning protection for pubs and the enforcement of those protections is adequate.
We are concerned that if the Finn MacCool’s case does not lead to the building having to be reinstated brick by brick and returned to use as a pub, then we will continue to see developers flouting the rules with pubs routinely converted or demolished without necessary planning permission in place.
This damaging practice must stop, and those found to have converted or demolished pubs against planning rules must be required to restore the original building brick by brick, as happens in other jurisdictions across these islands.
We are asking you and your officials in the Department to review the adequacy of protections for public houses in planning laws. We would also like the Department to review the powers and resources available to councils to deliver their enforcement duties.
We fear that enforcement may not happen partly due to fear of costly appeals or legal action from developers. The Executive should ensure that planning policy and enforcement options are strong enough so that unscrupulous developers know that they will face action if they breach the law.
We would welcome a chance to meet with you to discuss how planning enforcement can be strengthened to deter developers from unlawfully demolishing or converting pubs without planning permission.
In addition, would the Department consider using its reserved powers over planning enforcement in the particular case of the demolition of Finn MacCool’s public house without planning permission or listed building consent if Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is unable or unwilling to restore the pub to its former use?
Thank you in advance for your assistance. If you would like to discuss this matter further or if there is anything that we can assist with, please don’t hesitate to contact me on campaigns@camra.org.uk
Best wishes,
Ruth Sloan
Director, CAMRA Northern Ireland
