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The Crooked House In Himley: The Pub Where Coins 'Roll Uphill'

Stormkhan said:
Related ...
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/major-response-fire-derelict-glasgow-054207757.html
Yet another historic building - this time in Scotland - which seems to have been purchased, granted permission to become 36 flats and an underground carpark, yet left abandoned until it 'mysteriously and unaccountably' suffered from spontaneous combustion.

Perhaps this is a good thing - the media are highlighting this strange and *ahem* unexplainable phenomena of buildings up for development suddenly becoming more flammable than an oil terminal.
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So they'd been granted permission for flats - were they supposed to be converting the rather attractive building into flats? And unexpectedly it turned out to be cheaper to built from scratch than do a sensitive conversion job? Well, who ever would have thought...
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-14025846
The Jubilee Inn on Whiteway in Bath burned down in 2011, having been empty for 3 years without combusting. This was a big pub with a beer garden with amazing views, yet somehow in the couple of years leading up to its closure had a flurry of indifferent landlords and a string of problems. Its fire was followed by a swift demolition and the emergence of a series of town houses.

I cannot find a decent link that tells the whole story, but its is depressingly similar to those above.
 
I only hope that the attention the Crooked House has generated in mainstream media is used to highlight this problem which, up until now, was an open secret, even among the fire service.
It'd be interesting to compile a list of such 'accidents' to empty premises and buildings refused planning permission etc. Then 'sell' this to the papers as a 'general' article. This might put pressure on the authorities that risk disastrous career publicity not to let this happen.
'Protected' and 'Planning Permission' must be returned to being effective.
 
Derelict pubs seem to be a fire risk.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66668979

About 100 firefighters have been tackling fires at two derelict pubs just streets apart in Croydon, south London.
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The second floor and roof of The Windmill pub in St James's Road were destroyed by the fire, causing the roof to collapse, in the early morning.
The first and second floors of the Drum and Monkey pub in nearby Gloucester Road were also destroyed.
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New arrests in Crooked House pub inquiry​


Two more people have been arrested over a fire which tore through the Crooked House pub.
Once known as "Britain's wonkiest" inn, the pub near Dudley was hit by the blaze on 5 August, and demolished less than two days later.
A 34-year-old woman and a man, 44, both from Leicestershire, were detained.
They were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered, police said.
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EDIT: perhaps entirely coincidentally, the owners of the pub are a 34-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man.
 
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Another 'wonky pub' torched in suspected arson attack just 13 minutes from Crooked House

The 500-year-old Greyhound and Punchbowl pub in Bilston, W. Midlands, was torched after fire gutted its interior on Saturday morning. The Grade 2 listed building - which has bendy exterior beams - is just a short 13-minute drive away from the now-demolished Crooked House pub that burned down.

Firefighters from West Midlands Fire Service confirmed the building was unsafe to enter on Saturday. The fire was put out by 5.20am but over a quarter of the first floor suffered fire damage, while all three floors were smoke-damaged.

"Officers are carrying out CCTV and door to door enquiries to find out more about the circumstances of how the fire started. We were called shortly after 4am on 30 September to support West Midlands Fire Service, who believed the fire had been started deliberately.
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Pre fire
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Yet another arrest!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-66799921

A 23-year-old man has been arrested over a blaze that tore through the Crooked House pub.
The man, from Leicestershire, was detained on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered, police said.
He has been released on conditional bail while the investigation continues.
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Crooked House pub 'must be rebuilt back to what it was' after fire and 'unlawful demolition’

Andy Street, mayor of the region, has confirmed its owners have been ordered to rebuild it to its former wonky glory. He posted on social media: “Crooked House ordered to be rebuilt. 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. Fantastic work from South Staffordshire Council.” The council in its own update added: “The council has today, 27 February, served an Enforcement Notice on the owners of the Crooked House. The enforcement notice is for the unlawful demolition of the building which is a breach of planning control.

“The council has engaged with the owners since the demolition but has reached a point where formal action is considered necessary. The enforcement notice is for the unlawful demolition of the building, which is a breach of planning control. It requires the building to be built back to what it was prior to the fire. The notice specifies the materials etc which must be used to rebuild the building.”

It added the owners have three years from today to rebuild the beloved pub but have a week to appeal the notice which would be heard by an independent planning inspector. If work is not completed within the time limit, the local authority can prosecute for failure to comply with the notice. However, the owners do have 30 days to appeal.

Leader of the Council, councillor Roger Lees, said: “A huge amount of time and resources have been put into investigating the unauthorised demolition of the Crooked House. We have had great support from the local community, our MPs and the Mayor of the West Midlands, and from the campaign group whose aim is to see the Crooked House back to its former glory which is the key objective of the Enforcement Notice.

“We have not taken this action lightly, but we believe that it is right to bring the owners, who demolished the building without consent, to account and we are committed to do what we can to get the Crooked House rebuilt.”
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There’ll undoubtedly be an appeal against the order. They have 30 days to do this..
 
hunck said:
Crooked House pub 'must be rebuilt back to what it was' after fire and 'unlawful demolition’

Andy Street, mayor of the region, has confirmed its owners have been ordered to rebuild it to its former wonky glory. He posted on social media: “Crooked House ordered to be rebuilt. An enforcement notice has been issued against the owners for its unlawful demolition.


There’ll undoubtedly be an appeal against the order. They have 30 days to do this..
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If they aren't able to win their appeal, I suppose they'll have to stick to the letter of the order and build it wonkily?
 
Sid said:
If they aren't able to win their appeal, I suppose they'll have to stick to the letter of the order and build it wonkily?
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I'd assume so ...well they should anyway and I imagine there would be an outcry if they didn't!
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
Is the term "Cowboy" used in the UK to denote shoddy or not-standard construction? Here in the US, the home of the Cowboy, unstandard construction is termed by several different terms, depending on the intention of the speaker. Cowboy is not one of them.
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Not sure how many Americans you've had contact with, but this American has used, seen, and heard the term frequently and I'd even go as far to state that it's the most recognizable term for a shoddy contractor in this country.
 
Aydee_Aitchdee said:
Not sure how many Americans you've had contact with, but this American has used, seen, and heard the term frequently and I'd even go as far to state that it's the most recognizable term for a shoddy contractor in this country.
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That's interesting because I remember that this greatly upset E/A at the time.

I did point out that when we say it here, it's so ingrained in our vocabulary that we (I'm pretty sure most everyone) doesn't actually think of a cowboy when we say it- it's just a term that we use.

It's not meant to be derogatory to real cowboys in any way.

If you ask me, it is a bit of a daft term though. I usually go for bodge-job. (Bodge meaning roughly done without skill, neatness or care).
 
hunck said:
Crooked House pub 'must be rebuilt back to what it was' after fire and 'unlawful demolition’

Andy Street, mayor of the region, has confirmed its owners have been ordered to rebuild it to its former wonky glory. He posted on social media: “Crooked House ordered to be rebuilt. An enforcement notice has been issued against the owners for its unlawful demolition.


There’ll undoubtedly be an appeal against the order. They have 30 days to do this..
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I'll believe it when I see it. I have seen so many developers get away with this sort of thing.
 
Question, if they DO rebuild, and do it badly (so that nothing is square, walls are at angles, floors not correctly laid) - how would we know?
 
A bodge was also a measure equivalent to about half a peck, or 4.5 litres. It's supposed to have died out as a measure in the 17th century but I recall my grandmother referring to a small basket or a trug used for picking fruit or vegetables as a bodge. Maybe the name lingered in the more rural areas.
 
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