'They won't just walk away': council leader's fury after failure to rebuild Lancashire village pub following illegal demolition

The Grade II-listed Punch Bowl, on Longridge Road in Hurst Green, was demolished without permission in June 2021. Five people were found guilty of their part in illegally levelling the historic Ribble Valley hostelry after a trial the following year.

A judge later imposed a range of fines and costs orders, totalling almost £67,000, on the pub’s three owners and a company of which two of them are directors - Donelan Trading Ltd. - along with two people who worked for the contractor that carried out the work, Percliff, and the firm itself.

Separately, Ribble Valley Borough Council issued an enforcement notice against Wilpshire-based Donelan Trading requiring the company to rebuild the venue to the original plans.

An appeal against that order was subsequently dismissed by a planning inspector. That meant the owners had until 3rd March to put the building back to how it was - but have failed to do so.

In a statement issued to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Ribble Valley leader Stephen Atkinson said the authority was not going to let the matter lie.

“The Planning Inspectorate roundly dismissed an appeal by the owners of the Punch Bowl against our enforcement notice compelling them to restore the site to its former state,” Cllr Atkinson said.

“They have had ample time to restore or start restoring the building and we have been in constant contact with their representatives - and offered them every assistance within our remit - but to no avail.

“If the owners of the Punch Bowl think we are going to let them demolish the building and walk away, they can think again.

“We will not hesitate to act against anyone undertaking works on listed buildings unlawfully and all options regarding the Punch Bowl are now on the table, including legal action.”

The reputedly haunted pub had stood empty since 2012. Permission was granted in 2018 to Donelan Trading to convert the building into five holiday lets and a cafe. That project would have involved some demolition work and the building of extensions.

Defending the owners at their trial, solicitor David Lawson, told the court they were worried the building had become unsafe over time. He said they believed its state had deteriorated over the years and that it was broken into and targeted by arsonists.

In assessing their appeal against the council's enforcement notice, planning inspector A.A. Phillips rejected a claim that it would be impossible to restore the building because all of the materials had been destroyed.

"Clearly, this is incorrect because at my site inspection I observed very large piles of stonework from the demolition on site. Some of this material may have been compromised through the careless demolition process, but there is insufficient evidence before me to conclude that this is actually the case,” the inspector wrote.

Last August, it was reported that an historic buildings specialist had assessed the material left on the site and found no reusable roof slates had been located and that almost none of the timber was salvageable. Some stone material, however, was considered suitable for re-use.

At that time, discussions were said to be ongoing with Ribble Valley Borough Council about which materials may be reincorporated into the rebuilt pub.

Notorious highwaymen Dick Turpin and Ned King are reported to have stayed at the Punch Bowl and the ghost of ‘Old Ned’ was purported still to roam the pub - at least while the venue was standing.