1 week Ago
A pub which had its historic green tiles ripped off has now been put on the market amid a lengthy legal battle. Charlie Southall, owner of the Montreal Arms in Albion Hill, Brighton, was ordered to repair or replace the tiles which were hacked away by workers in March 2022. Brighton and Hove City Council issued an enforcement notice following the incident, requiring the tiles to be replaced by July 2024 .
For sale signs have now been put on the pub and estate agents Savills confirmed the asking price is for “offers in excess of £425,000”. The establishment has been the subject of several planning applications and appeals in which Mr Southall said the building was “in a critical state of disrepair, with extensive structural issues posing significant safety hazards”. The property developer has previously said the building is no longer economically viable as a pub and has disputed concerns over the loss of a community asset.
Documents filed on Companies House in July 2023 said the pub’s estimated value was around £150,000, lowered due to the ongoing legal action over the pub’s tiles. “In the director’s opinion it would be almost impossible to sell the property until the legal situation has been resolved," document said. "He estimates that the fair value at September 30, 2022, was no more than £150,000.
” A run down of the pub’s recent planning history In September, Mr Southall abandoned two planning appeals which were due to be discussed at a meeting with the planning inspector. In the same month, the council said it was exploring “all options” in its fight to get the tiles put back on the pub . The appeals related to two planning applications submitted earlier that year regarding the reinstatement of the green tiles.
One plan submitted by Mr Southall proposed to laser scan the existing green tiles for them to be replicated by specialists at Craven Dunnill and put back on the bottom of the building. The other would have seen the tiles put on the first floor of the building and the lower part of the building, where the green tiles originally were, would be replaced by a dark green render. In the second application, which was refused, Mr Southall also sought to change the use of the building from a pub to a commercial unit.
The first application was approved with 16 conditions attached including the requirement to provide samples of the render, roof tiling and glazed tiles for council approval before work began. Mr Southall appealed the conditions attached to the first application and appealed against the second’s refusal..
