Crooked House owners win right to postpone inquiry

A public inquiry to decide whether the owners of the Crooked House should rebuild "Britain's wonkiest inn" has been postponed after a request by the owners.

The pub, in Himley, near Dudley, was destroyed last year in a suspected arson attack.

South Staffordshire Council served an enforcement order on the owners in February, ordering them to rebuild the pub within three years.

However, ATE Farms Limited launched an appeal against the order in March and the council has now said the inquiry was likely to take place in spring 2025 instead of August 2024.

The notice was served to ATE Farms Limited as well as its director George Adam Taylor, and former director Carly Taylor, who stepped down in December.

According to the council, the planning inspectorate accepted ATE Farms's request to postpone the inquiry and said it would be preferable to deal with the appeal following any potential separate court action relating to the fire.

However, the inspector noted that the inquiry should not be delayed indefinitely and indicated that it would be arranged for some time in spring 2025.

Meanwhile, an architect, Steve Anderson, said drone footage from 2016 was a "gift" and "it's an amazing opportunity to do a really good job of recreating The Crooked House".

Jim Morris, from Drone Surveying, stated he set up the business in that year, was testing out a new drone and "scanned the pub with the landlord's permission at the time".

Director Mr Anderson, from Buttress Architects, said: "It means that we can produce really good information to help a builder to put that building back together very accurately, very faithfully."

He also stated: "This kind of data is incredibly accurate and it's down to the millimetre, so we can take that data, convert it into a set of really detailed drawings that would help a builder."

The Crooked House was well-known in the Black Country for its sloping walls and floor, caused by mining subsidence in the area.

The pub caught fire on 5 August and was demolished two days later, prompting anger from residents, former customers, and the region's politicians.

ATE Farms Limited bought the 18th Century pub from Marstons in July 2023, nine days before the fire.

Five men and one woman have been arrested in connection with the fire, which the force is treating as arson, Staffordshire Police have said previously.

A woman, 34, and two men, aged 23 and 44, all from Leicestershire, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Three other men, aged 66, 51 and 33, had been held on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

All have been released on conditional bail.

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