Inquiry date set for appeal against rebuild order of The Crooked House

A date has been confirmed for the owners of The Crooked House in Dudley, to appeal against an order to rebuild the landmark pub. 

South Staffordshire Council had served an enforcement notice on the owners ATE Farms in February after it demolished the pub just days after a suspected arson attack. 

ATE Farms appealed against the order and now an inquiry will open at 10:00 BST on July 23 with a venue yet to be determined. The notice was served to the business ATE Farms,  as well as the company’s director, George Adam Taylor, and former director Carly Taylor, who stepped down in December.

The pub, which was originally built in 1765, was sold by Marstons to a “private buyer for alternative use” in August and was “unlikely to open its doors again”.

But the landmark caught fire days later in a suspected arson attack and was then demolished by ATE Farms two days after the blaze, all whilst police said an investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing. Six people have since been arrested in connection with the fire and remain on bail. 

ATE Farms is registered to the same address as Himley Environmental – the company that runs the quarry and landfill next to the site.