Flattening fire-ravaged Wolverhampton pub built by great-great grandfather 'for the best'

The Neachells pub on Willenhall Road was originally a farmhouse which was built in the 1880s. The pub shut its doors in June last year and then, in February, was torched in a suspected arson attack. The site is now earmarked for a care home.

Henry Carver, the great-great grandson of the man who built it, said it was the best thing for the site.

The managing director of builders' merchant Carvers Building Supplies said: "This farmhouse was built by John Carver in 1880s as it was near to businesses in Willenhall and Wolverhampton. He was my great-great-grandfather. Knocking it down is sad, but the right thing to do as it has no commercial use, so it has sat there derelict for years.

"We need this approach for other derelict sites in the city, including the Southside area which was left blighted by the failed Summer Row, the former eye infirmary and the JN Miller corn mill, which was set on fire years ago, but has stayed a burned-out shell."

Select Healthcare Developments, a family-run residential care home operator based in Brierley Hill, has plans for the pub site.

The company runs 23 care homes across the country, with facilities geared towards residents with physical disabilities and mental health issues, as well as elderly care. The firm recently opened ventures in Baschurch, Shropshire, and Taverham in Norfolk.

See also: Landmark Wolverhampton pub targeted in suspected arson attack

Mr Carver said the old farmhouse was used by his great-great-grandfather to run his timber business and others. John Carver was the man who founded the local building supplies company.

"The house was built with stables and I think that it would have been very attractive at the time," Mr Carver said.

"But time moves on. The building became a pub and then the pub closed.

"However sad I may be about a piece of family history, it is betterthat it is knocked down and something else is done with it."