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| Carlton Tavern after demolition |
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| and before... |
Anger is building on the borders of Brent and Westminster over the demolition of the Carlton Tavern on the eve of the building being granted Grade II status by Historic England.
There were rumours today that the company concerned had gone into liquidation to avoid legal action.
A demonstration is planned for the evening of Sunday April 26th, more details when it is finalised.
Meanwhile a 38 Degrees petition has been set up
LINK with this preamble:
A historic pub in Kilburn which survived being
bombed in the Second World War has been demolished by developers behind
the backs of the local community.
Developers ripped through the Carlton Tavern on Friday 10th April, despite being considered for statutory listing.
Local Cllr Jan Prendergast from Westminster City Council said:
“I'm horrified for the local residents that this has occurred. It
came as such a shock to everyone. There was no prior warning to the
council, no approvals and no proper health and safety procedures in
place.
“This was a lovely pub and I'm sorry to see it go, but I'm more
concerned for the residents in Maida Vale for whom they showed no
consideration whatsoever. It was the last building standing in Carlton
vale after the WW2 bombings.
“I've lived in the area for 35 years and have never seen anything
like this before. We need to take very careful legal advice as to what
steps we can take.”
The demolition of the Carlton Tavern demonstrates how vulnerable
communities are to speculative and aggressive development tactics. It
also demonstrates a complete disregard towards the historic social
infrastructure of Kilburn and the wider UK pub heritage stock.
Local pubs are at the heart of our communities and allowing valued
pubs such as the Carlton Tavern to be demolished in this way is
ludicrous and is denying local residents a say in the future of their
neighbourhoods.
James Watson, Regional Pub Protection Advisor for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) said:
"Although we welcome the recent changes to planning law which came
into effect on 6th April 2015, which afford some protection to
ACV-registered pubs, the tragic case of the Carlton Tavern demonstrates
just how vulnerable pubs are to rapacious development. We now urge the
Government to take this case into consideration and amend planning law
to ensure that such demolitions are prohibited unless planning
permission is first obtained. This would ensure communities like Kilburn
have a say in the future of their local pubs."
The Save the Queensbury, fighting for the pub in Willesden Green, has expressed solidaroty and meanwhile have issued a revolutionary manifesto that challenges all the political parties to match the vision which they percieve through the bottom of a glass
LINK
