The pub’s story ended, seemingly, in June 2021 when residents learned that the Punch Bowl Inn had been demolished. Outrage followed. The pub was a listed building, a designation in the United Kingdom that protects structures of historical significance.
The Ribble Valley borough council, which oversees Hurst Green, took legal action against the pub’s owner, Andrew Donelan, whose company demolished the building. In early March, authorities rejected an appeal from Donelan’s company and ordered them to rebuild the Punch Bowl Inn within 12 months — using the very stones from the pub’s rubble.
The order “is pretty unique,” Tom Pridmore, Ribble Valley’s tourism officer, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “If you could see the pile of rubble, by golly, what a job that’s going to be.”
Developers demolished a historic pub. They must rebuild from the rubble.
The Ribble Valley borough council, which oversees Hurst Green, took legal action against the pub’s owner, Andrew Donelan, whose company demolished the building. In early March, authorities rejected an appeal from Donelan’s company and ordered them to rebuild the Punch Bowl Inn within 12 months — using the very stones from the pub’s rubble.
The order “is pretty unique,” Tom Pridmore, Ribble Valley’s tourism officer, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “If you could see the pile of rubble, by golly, what a job that’s going to be.”
Developers demolished a historic pub. They must rebuild from the rubble.