Developers who demolished a historic pub in West London, without permission from Westminster council, have been ordered to rebuild it “brick by brick”.
The owners of Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale — Tel Aviv-based developers CLTX Ltd — brought in bulldozers and reduced the early 1920s building to rubble, after telling staff to stay at home for an “inventory”. It happened just days before the pub was due to become a Grade II listed building.
The company’s move followed a rejection of its planning application earlier this year to replace the redbrick pub with expensive flats.
The pub may have been the only building on the street to survive the blitz, but it was powerless against the onslaught of greed.
In an unprecedented move, council chiefs will next week issue an enforcement notice to CLTX requiring it to “recreate in facsimile the building as it stood immediately prior to its demolition”. This also means that the owners will not be able to sell the building until it’s restored to its original state.
The council’s swift action has been applauded by local residents, who were shocked at the company’s actions.
Someone left a message at the Carlton Tavern today. Not very hard to miss. #NW6 #London pic.twitter.com/wa0Xh0uS3t
— maar pinite (@maarpinite) April 13, 2015
Good news: Westminster council prepared "to throw book" at owners who demolished much-loved Carlton Tavern in Kilburn pic.twitter.com/Zu1bXhJqQd
— Roger Protz (@RogerProtzBeer) April 24, 2015
Watch as the pub is reduced to rubble and the road is engulfed in plumes of dust:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv3ieSj9qS4
There is growing concern over the future of British pub culture, with several thousand pubs closing in the past decade due to a perfect storm of a recession, increasing overheads, tax on beer, ban on smoking and cheap supermarket beer.
This latest demolition is just another nail in the coffin for this beloved British institution.
Unsurprisingly, CLTX is appealing the council’s decision. If it wins, the company may be able to resume with redevelopment of the site. For the sake of the local community, here’s hoping CLTX fails.