A property developer has been accused of ‘utter vandalism’ after he hired builders to hack vintage tiles off a locally listed pub, reports the Brighton and Hove News.
image for illustration purposes only – Slbs / Albion Hill, Brighton – the Montreal Arms, Commons Wikimedia
… team of workers started removing the green tiles from the Albion Hill pub..
Brighton and Hove News writes:
Charlie Southall last week abandoned a crowdfunder to renovate the Montreal Arms so Ukranian refugees could be housed there after neighbours questioned his motives and pointed out the large profit he stood to make.
On Tuesday morning, a team of workers started removing the green tiles from the Albion Hill pub as he handed out a leaflet claiming they were beyond repair.
By 4pm, Brighton and Hove City Council had issued a stop notice, but by then large sections of the tiles had been destroyed.
Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said the damage was “utter vandalism”, adding: “This absolutely cannot go unchallenged.”….
… Councillor Powell said: “Those tiles are well over 100 years old I suspect, and well-loved by locals.”
“I can’t think what the owner hopes to achieve by doing this.”
The council’s deputy leader, Councillor Sue Shanks, said: “I’m angry that the owner of the Montreal Arms is trying to remove its green tiles, and I know a lot of residents are very upset as well.
“A member of our planning enforcement team visited the site earlier after receiving complaints.
“We believe there has been a breach of planning controls.
“We have told the owner that the work requires planning permission.
“We will be posting a temporary stop notice on site that will come into effect tomorrow.
“This means they will have to stop removing the tiles temporarily to allow consideration of next steps.”….
… The green tiles are a feature on several pubs in Brighton which were run by United Breweries…
