A parliamentary debate is to be held today to explore ways to step up protection for heritage pubs.
The debate, due to take place this afternoon in the House of Commons, follows the demise of the Crooked House in Himley, which burned down on 5 August this year and was unlawfully demolished days later.
Dudley North MP Marco Longhi has secured the debate and submitted his name in a ballot for a private member’s bill to protect heritage pubs, which will be introduced in a parliamentary session if successfully drawn.
Longhi said the demolishing of The Crooked House had affected his community and that better protection for heritage pubs is needed.
He said it is necessary to first define the characteristics of a heritage pub and then require local authorities to hold and review on a yearly basis a register listing all heritage pubs.
Council planning committees would then be able to identify which buildings require additional protection, making it more difficult to see them redeveloped for later use.
Longhi has also suggested that only buyers who wish to run these heritage buildings as pubs should be allowed to make offers in the first year of them going on the market.
