Crooked House owners' links to previous major fire

The owners of a Black Country pub which was gutted by fire and then demolished two days later experienced another huge fire on land they owned.

The Crooked House, near Dudley, had recently been sold to new owners, who have now been ordered by the Health and Safety Executive to secure the site.

The safety watchdog said it was also now liaising with authorities.

The cause of a previous blaze at Finmere landfill, Buckinghamshire, in August 2018 was never established.

Adam Taylor is director of AT Contracting and Plant Hire Ltd, which, according to Land Registry documents, owns the Finmere site.

His wife, Carly, controls the company ATE Farms Limited, which bought the "wonky" Black Country landmark in July.

Mrs Taylor also currently controls AT Contracting and Plant Hire Ltd, which the BBC understands rented a digger a week before flames engulfed The Crooked House on 5 August.

Two days later the 18th Century building on Himley Road was flattened, leading to widespread protests.

Mr and Mrs Taylor have not replied to the BBC's requests for an interview.

Four hundred tonnes of waste caught fire at Finmere landfill on 4 August 2018.

Firefighters from Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire worked through the night to extinguish it.

Almost exactly five years later, firefighters worked overnight to save the historic Himley pub, which began to subside in the 19th Century.

Staffordshire Police confirmed last Wednesday the blaze was being treated as arson.

South Staffordshire Council said it was conducting an investigation into the "demolition of the entire building, without appropriate permissions".

The force previously said its investigation would be robust.

Protests against The Crooked House's destruction weeks after it was sold by previous owner Marston's have seen signs and other tributes placed among the rubble.

A petition to rebuild it has amassed more than 18,500 signatures.

Fences were put up at the site on Tuesday.

The HSE said it had issued an Improvement Notice requiring the site owner to secure the area.

A nearby notice states two adjacent footpaths have been closed to the public by the local authority, including one leading to the pub's car park, due to concerns over the instability of the ground.

Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said a public meeting at Himley Hall on Wednesday at 18:00 BST would be a chance for concerned residents to "vent their anger" and voice ideas for the building's future.

He met with South Staffordshire Council on Tuesday and added, while he could not go into the details of what was discussed, was "much more reassured about where we are going with all of this".

Campaigners met Mr Longhi after the meeting and one of them, Ian Sandall, told BBC Radio WM he felt "very buoyant and very confident" afterwards.

"Everything seemed very positive. What I can say is we are all singing off the same hymn sheet," he said.

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