CAMRA comments on the case of the Crooked House, South Staffordshire

Commenting on the case of the Crooked House, South Staffordshire, CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said: 

“The case of the Crooked House is a national tragedy, and we have now learnt that the full demolition of the building was not required following the safety inspection. The police and Council must both act swiftly to investigate the fire and subsequent demolition of the building.  

“The destruction of this iconic pub has brought a nationwide scandal to the forefront of people’s minds.  

“Despite the Government granting full planning protection to pubs in 2017 – meaning that change of use or demolition requires planning permission – we continue to see developers flouting the rules with pubs routinely converted or demolished without that permission in place. 

“Figures released by CAMRA just last week showed that up to a third of closures and demolitions may be happening without the required planning permission, denying the local community the opportunity to save their local pub.  

“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. If local authorities won’t provide adequate planning enforcement, then central government needs to step in to make sure that unscrupulous developers know that they will face action if they do the same.” 

Ends

Notes to editors:

CAMRA’s previous Press Release regarding pub closures and pub protection regulations can be found here: https://camra.org.uk/press_release/developers-flout-vital-pub-protection-regulations-in-a-third-of-pub-closures/

Closure data is compiled from CAMRA’s pub database at whatpub.com and a full report can be downloaded from the CAMRA website at: https://camra.org.uk/campaign_resources/camra-pub-closure-report-january-june-2023/