NEIGHBOUR 'WARS'
Crooked House: Inside ‘feud’ between brewery and new owners over access to landfill site – as cops probe fire
THE CROOKED House pub owners were reportedly feuding with a brewery over access to a landfill before buying the site.
Adam Taylor, 44, and his glamorous wife Carly, 34, bought Britain's wonkiest pub in Himley, Staffordshire, from Marston's last month.
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The purchase came after the couple had allegedly been at stuck in a row with the brewery over an access road shared by the pub and a neighbouring landfill site.
The depot is operated by Himley Environmental Ltd - a firm Mr Taylor is a shareholder and former director of.
A source told that the couple's decision to purchase the pub was "all about access" due to the dispute between Himley Environmental and Marston's.
The iconic pub was left gutted following the fire on Saturday night.
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Its scorched remains were flattened by diggers 36 hours after the blaze.
Planning officials from South Staffordshire Council had insisted the pub must not be demolished following the fire — and its lawyers are now looking into potential breaches of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act.
Council leader Roger Lees said planning officials had visited the burnt-out pub on Monday and it was agreed that just three parts of the first floor would be pulled down to “avoid the weak parts of the structure from falling”.
But he added: “At no point did the council agree to the demolition of the whole structure, nor was it deemed necessary.
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“This council finds the manner in which the situation was managed following the fire completely unacceptable.”
The pub had been put forward for listed status protection just days before it became rubble.
It would have meant that the owners would have needed permission from the council to fully demolish it before doing so.
Its lawyers are now looking into potential breaches of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act.
It comes after firefighters were hampered in their efforts to save the building on Saturday night due to a mound of earth on the rural access road.
Officers said they were forced to park a third of the way up the mile-long lane leading to The Crooked House and roll out 40 lengths of fire hose because of the obstruction.
Staffordshire Police also announced last night that it is treating the fire as arson.
It comes as Mr and Mrs Taylor's sprawling luxury portfolio can be revealed.
Mrs Taylor is the director of ATE Farms Ltd, a firm set up by her husband, who himself is a shareholder and former director of Himley Environment Ltd - which runs a landfill next to the Crooked House.
The couple own a range of companies and properties are "always on the lookout" for a new venture.
They are also the owners of a second pub just five miles from their gated home between Hinckley and Lutterworth in Leicestershire.
Mr Taylor bought the Sarah Mansfield Country Inn located in the rural village of Willey, Warwickshire, in 2020.
But Mr Taylor allegedly stripped out the pub's interior after purchasing the site from a brewery.
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The couple's latest project is a bid to transform a former quarry at Dunton Bassett, Leicestershire, into a holiday destination.
Cops have said they will "continue to engage" with Mr and Mrs Taylor as an investigation continues.
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