The owners of the Crooked House pub near Dudley have been ordered to rebuild it after the historic building was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.

Once known as “Britain’s wonkiest” inn, the 258-year-old pub in Himley was reduced to rubble following a fire on 5 August 2023.

In a post on X, West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, praised South Staffordshire Council, adding: "An enforcement notice has been issued against the owners for its unlawful demolition.

“They have been ordered to rebuild the pub back to what it was before the fire - just as we’ve been lobbying for.”

  • Big P@feddit.uk
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    8 months ago

    Even if they don’t do that I think they’ll go bankrupt, recreating the pub is probably far more expensive than they can afford

    • Nighed@sffa.community
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      8 months ago

      I think they are a reasonably large and apparently infamous (even before this) developer. They should have the assets to do this. Whether they actually use them or hide them is up for question.

      • _xDEADBEEF@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        They’re clearly morally bankrupt. They’ll do anything to not comply with the order if there’s no money in it for them.

        • Nighed@sffa.community
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          8 months ago

          It depends if the directors.can be found legally liable. I don’t think they can be financially liable unless it can be proved they have done something illegal (depending on their company setup)

          • Devi@kbin.social
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            8 months ago

            They burned their pub down, that’s definitely illegal. They then bulldozed it before the fire investigators could come in, extra illegal.