'Don't expect to see the Crooked House rebuilt any time soon'

This is standard procedure for local authorities when dealing with breaches of planning law, and the penalty for dealing with such breaches is an unlimited fine. But forcing ATE Farms Ltd, owner of the Crooked House, to rebuild the pub, will be no easy feat.

Seeing the pint glass as half full, campaigners can take heart from the tale of the Carlton Tavern in Kilburn, London, which was unlawfully demolished in 2015 by Tel Aviv-based developer CTLX.

The company doubtless expected to be issued with a fine, which would have been factored in to the cost of its plans, and then allowed to reap the profits of redeveloping the site.

However, faced with a massive backlash from an outraged public, Westminster Council took the unprecedented move of ordering a brick-by-brick rebuild. An appeal inevitably followed, but a planning inquiry the following year confirmed the decision, ruling that the pub should be rebuilt 'in facsimile', from the red bricks to the distinctive tiled pub name.

Polly Robertson, a leading member of the campaign to get the pub rebuilt, recalled: "They said it would be too difficult to do, but we had an answer for that.

"We had a suspicion before the demolition that they would do something, so we asked Historic England to think about listing it. They took a plaster cast of every tile, they took pictures and documented everything."

The process was not a quick one, but CTLX complied with the order, and in 2021 – six years after the demolition – the Carlton Tavern reopened.

But forcing a major international property developer to adhere to an enforcement notice is one thing, but dealing with a small one-man business could prove much more problematic.

When the Express & Star contacted Aldridge-based Farcroft Restorations about the feasibility of rebuilding the pub, director Danny Bennett said such a scheme was certainly feasible, but would likely take up to three years, and cost something in the region of £3 million.

But the most recent accounts submitted by ATE Farms, the owner of the site against which the notice has been issued, showed the company had net assets of just over £1.6 million, and just £4,278 in ready cash.

Faced with a bill for almost double its assets, director Adam Taylor may well decide to simply put the company into liquidation. Campaigners will no doubt argue that Mr Taylor owns a number of companies which have considerably more by the way of assets, but as far as the law is concerned, these companies are completely separate entities and cannot be held liable for money owed by ATE Farms.

The other difficult area will be the order that the building should be restored to its condition prior to the fire. Investigations into the cause of the blaze are ongoing, and nobody has to date been charged. It is probable that lawyers acting on behalf of ATE Farms may well argue that, unless there has been an insurance payout, the company should not be held liable for the cost of the fire damage.

The company has seven days to appeal against the enforcement notice – assuming it will follow such a course of action, campaigners should brace themselves for a lengthy legal battle.

While the Carlton Tavern may well give hope, the story of the 300-year-olde Punch Bowl Inn at Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley should be a cautionary tale.

In June 2021 the 300-year-old Punch Bowl Inn at Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley was demolished by owner Donelan Trading Ltd, having been repeatedly denied planning permission to redevelop the site. An enforcement notice was issued against the company – run by Andrew Donelan, his wife Nicola and daughter Rebecca.

In March last year, the company was hit with a bill for tens of thousands of pounds, and the Planning Inspectorate threw out an appeal against the enforcement. The Donelans were given 12 months to rebuild the pub, but just four weeks ago there was little sign of the work taking place.

Issuing the notice may well prove to be the easy bit. Enforcing it is likely to be a protracted and expensive affair.