On Thu, 5 Jun 2008 04:40:36 -0700 (PDT), Man at B&Q wrote:

p.s. Is this normal practise, to spend money demolishing, before
ensuring a successful planning application. This seems abit backwards
to me!

Sounds like the demo notice was served due to the building being in an
unsafe state or an eyesore.

That would be my take on it as well. I'd guess the planning for the flats
was refused because it would require the demolition of the 17thC pub,
which probably wasn't listed but could have been considered worth
preserving. After a couple of years neglect and a fire it's now not worth
saving and has become dangerous so needs to be demolished. Thus making way
for a planning application for a block of flats,which will probably be
granted. This is a known MO for speculative developers.

Try digging about on Companies House for the directors of the company that
currently own it and those of the previous owners. It might be
interesting...

You probably won't be able to do anything about it though or block the
planning application on what is a clear brown field site.

--
Cheers
Dave.