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Owners of demolished Grade II listed pub ordered to rebuild it
The historic pub was reportedly demolished ‘without consent’
The owners of a Grade II listed pub that was demolished without permission have been ordered to rebuild it.
The Punch Bowl Inn in Hurst Green, Lancashire, was demolished in June 2021 after an application for caravan pitches on the site was rejected.
According to a plaque that hung above the door, the pub dated all the way back to 1793, while an extension was added in the mid 19th Century.
It was thought to have originally been a pair of cottages with a barn, all of which were later converted to be part of the pub.
Rude Health / Geograph
It first received listed status in November 1983.
However, in response to Historic England’s claims that the late 18th Century pub was demolished ‘without consent’, Ribble Valley Council has ordered for it to be rebuilt to its original plan based on architectural records.
The authority claims to have refused several planning applications for a static caravan site in recent years by Wilpshire developer Donelan Trading Ltd, after the pub was put up for sale in 2013.
A council spokeswoman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that an appeal had been launched by the recipients against the order or other planning matters associated with the former pub.
Chris Heaton / Geograph
In reports by planning officers written before the pub’s demolition, the proposed caravan development was billed as ‘harmful’ to the setting of the listed inn building, the open countryside and the Forest of Bowland area.
Numerous letters of objection were also received by the planning department, one of which stated that the owner should not be given ‘a right to do anything with this land until a full investigation into the illegal destruction of the Punch Bowl Inn is complete’.
The local parish council also objected to the plans, citing factors such as including overdevelopment, road safety and the demolition of the inn.
One letter stated, as per Lancashire Live: “I just don’t feel it would be justified to give the owners a right to do anything with this land until a full investigation into the illegal destruction of the Punch Bowl Inn is complete. It may be that they will be asked to rebuild the Punch Bowl and, therefore, it would not be in-keeping to have fifteen static caravans nearby.”