Calls to raise a glass to Crooked House campaign

The Crooked House pub was destroyed in a blaze in August 2023

A new week-long initiative has been launched in the fight for the Crooked House pub to be rebuilt, two years after it was ravaged by fire.

Ian Sandall from the Toast The Crooked House campaign wants people to post a selfie of themselves raising a glass to the pub to raise awareness about the campaign.

The 18th-century venue in Himley, near Dudley, was demolished two days after it was gutted in a fire on 5 August 2023.

Staffordshire Police treated the blaze as arson and arrested six people over the incident, releasing them on bail. Until the criminal investigation is concluded, the planning inspectorate said an inquiry to decide on the rebuild was on hold.

Mr Sandall said: "It doesn't matter where you are in the world; whatever time of the day, you can raise a glass and have a cheer.

"You can have a thought, you can have a moment of reflection [and] post the selfie to the Facebook page. It is a show of strength across the world for the Crooked House."

He added: "You see the wheels of motion in authorities not turning that quickly. I understand that.

"However, we have to believe that this pub is going to be rebuilt. It's too great a loss to the Black Country, to the pub industry, to our Black Country DNA... for it not to be rebuilt."

Ian Sandall says a week-long campaign has been launched to raise awareness

In February last year, South Staffordshire Council served an enforcement notice on the pub's owners, ATE Farms Limited, ordering them to restore the pub within three years.

An appeal against the move was lodged by the owners, who had purchased the Crooked House from Marstons in July 2023.

A public inquiry was set to decide the outcome of the standoff, but that inquiry has been delayed.

According to the council, the planning inspectorate accepted the owners' request for postponement and said it was preferable to deal with the appeal following any potential separate court action relating to the fire.

The inspectorate noted, however, that the delay should not go on indefinitely.

The council said it "remained committed" to resolving the matter, and it was awaiting a decision from Staffordshire Police regarding its ongoing investigations.

Jackie Marsh says she has a realistic hope the pub can be rebuilt at the site

Asked if she had a realistic hope that it could be rebuilt at the overgrown site, Jackie Marsh, from Save The Crooked House, said: "Yes, definitely."

She added: "I believe that the technology we've got in these days, that that will help more so than hinder.

"Once it starts, I'm sure that everybody will be helping; architects, building inspectors, everybody will all come on board."

A public inquiry was set to decide the outcome of a standoff, but that has been delayed

Mike Wood, the Conservative MP for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, said: "We all want it concluded as quickly as possible, but the important thing is we need the right outcome.

"We need whoever is responsible to be held accountable for their actions."

Staffordshire Police said its investigation was ongoing and a file had been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.