A millionnaire who “vandalised” his own pub by ripping off its green tiles has abandoned two planning appeals just days before a public hearing was due to take place.
Charlie Southall “unlawfully” stripped swathes of the distinctive tiles weeks after he bought it in spring 2022 – shortly after abandoning a crowdfunder to restore it following a lack of support.
Brighton and Hove City Council issued a stop notice, and then an enforcement notice requiring him to restore the tiles, which was upheld in an amended form by a planning inspector.
He also appealed it being declared an asset of community value, but this was also dismissed by a tribunal judge.
This year, he lodged two planning applications. One, to flip the position of the tiles from the bottom to the top of the facade and turn the pub into a generic commercial space was refused.
The other, to restore the tiles and retain the pub, was approved, with conditions to ensure the tiles were restored properly.
He appealed the refusal, and the conditions, and both were due to be discussed at a public meeting with a planning inspector on Wednesday, September 25.
But today, the council announced the meeting had been cancelled because both appeals have been withdrawn.
It’s not now clear what Mr Southall’s plans for the pub are. Brighton and Hove News has approached him for comment.
The enforcement notice, which required the tiles to be reinstated by July, is still in force.
The council has the option to take Mr Southall to court if it is not complied with, and has done so in other cases. However, while action to comply with notices is seen to be progressing, it typically holds off on any court action.
In the last accounts filed for Dragon Architectural Services, the company Mr Southall set up to develop the pub, it’s stated that the pub is currently worth £150,000 – just a third of the £420,000 he bought it for.
This is because of the enforcement notice and the “ongoing legal dispute” it has triggered.
The accounts also show that the amount owed to another company he part-owns with his wife – Dragonfly Digital Video Services Ltd – has increased from £463,633 to £480,993.
Mr Southall needs to make good on the damage he’s caused. It is that simple. And if that means the money has to be squeeeezed out of him until the pips squeak, he should reflect that he is the architect of his own misfortune.
The only bit of architecture he has got right 🤗
This really does need sorting out. If the owner is in breach of a court order to replace tiles, then he should be made to do so. And I really don’t believe that the property is now only worth £150,000. Even sans tiles.