Fight to rebuild Carlton Tavern takes strange twist

Melbourne’s Carlton Inn was knocked down on 15 October and local authorities have now ordered the site’s owners to rebuild the pub.

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The story has remarkable similarities to the Carlton Tavern in Westminster, which was demolished in April last year in breach of the council’s planning decision and the pub was, at the time, being considered for Grade II listing.

As a result, a ruling by the planning inspectorate has required the developers, CLTX, to rebuild the Carlton Tavern "brick by brick".

Warning served

Minister of planning at the state of Victoria in Australia, Richard Wynne, said he first heard about the Carlton Tavern story when people began sending him news clips, saying the same order should be made for their local pub.

He said: "Australians and the English have a shared love of their history – and their pubs.

"Rebuild orders for two Carlton pubs in separate hemispheres serve as a warning, people will not stand for illegal demolition of their history."

Far-reaching impact

Westminster City Council deputy leader and cabinet member for the built environment Robert Davis said: “It is truly extraordinary that the local Westminster campaign to get the Carlton Tavern rebuilt brick by brick has had such a far-reaching impact.

“Our colleagues in Melbourne deserve a huge amount of credit – they have set a clear precedent that communities will not stand for this kind of scandalous act.

“I hope that when both of these historic pubs are rebuilt they will stand as a symbol for the power of local communities to stand up for the special heritage of their much-loved public houses.”