A developer is about to be ordered to rebuild the London pub it demolished “brick by brick”
Here's one for all those complaining about London's best assets being converted into luxury flats: a developer is due to be told to rebuild a historic pub it owned "brick by brick", after it demolished it without getting planning permission.
The Carlton Tavern in Kilburn Park, which survived the Blitz, was razed to the ground earlier this month after the developer, Tel Aviv-based CLTX, told staff to stay at home for an inventory.
In a report published ahead of a planning committee meeting on 5 May, Westminster council said by the time a planning enforcement officer arrived at the scene, the pub had been "substantially demolished".
"It was clear that the building had been demolished with extreme haste without the usual precautions of hoardings, road closures etc, and there was evidence that fixtures and fittings had not been removed prior to the commencement of the demolition works."
Because of that, council bosses are likely to issue an enforcement notice to CLTX, demanding that it "recreates in facsimile the building as it stood". Such a notice is unprecedented – but the council argues that then again, so were CLTX's actions.
Although the pub wasn't listed, the report suggests an officer from Historic England had been "about to make their recommendation… regarding the addition of the pub to the statutory list".
"The unauthorised demolition of the building has resulted in the loss of a building of architectural and historic significance and interest," the council said today. "It is clear from the extent of local concern… that the local community consider the public house to be important."