A historic London bar that was illegally demolished by an Israeli development company two days before a heritage site was to be declared will reopen on Monday, six years after the city council ordered it to be rebuilt ‘brick-by-brick’.
The Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale, West London, was the only building in its block that survived the Nazi blitz in World War II, and will be one of thousands of pubs in Britain that will open their doors on Monday while the country ‘ n coronavirus uplift. restrictions.
The Carlton Tavern was demolished in 2015 without permission by an Israeli development company CTLX LTD, which planned to build an apartment block on the site.
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The demolition of the historic bar – first built in the 1860s, destroyed by a German Zeppelin bomb in World War I and then rebuilt in the 1920s – sparked a scream and petition to the local council.
The Carlton Tavern in West London after it was illegally demolished by an Israeli company in 2015 (Screencapture / YouTube)
The demolition took place just two days before Historic England would recommend that the bar be granted the status of a Grade II list.
Westminster City Council has told CTLX to rebuild the “brick by brick” bar. The company refused and appealed, but the local authorities upheld the order.
According to the daily Ha’aretz, CLTX is a relatively unknown company with only one listed director, the lawyer Ori Calif in Tel Aviv.
The reopening was delayed by several successive closures of the coronavirus. The new owners initially planned to reopen in May, but when the British government announced that pubs could open on April 12, they rushed to get ready.
The Rebuilt Carlton Tavern (Screencapture / YouTube)
‘Since it was announced, it’s gone completely crazy. We are fully booked for the next two weeks and our website is not even available yet, ”Tom Rees told the Daily Mail.
“We will have to sacrifice some things like furniture inside that we hoped to be ready for the opening that will hopefully be completed when our customers can get inside,” he said.
Parts of the new bar, fireplace and handrail have been recovered from the bar’s debris, giving it ‘character and charm’, he told the newspaper.
Rees added: ‘This is a very good commercial opportunity. We love this romantic idea of bringing this bar back. Here are not so many good local pubs you would like to sit in and a wonderful Sunday braai.
Along with the reopening of pubs, millions of people in Britain will get their first chance in months for haircuts, casual shopping and restaurant meals on Monday as the government takes the next step on its roadmap being locked.
Nationwide restrictions have been in place since the beginning of January in England, and similar rules in the other parts of the UK, to suppress an increase in coronavirus infections that dominated the country late last year, coupled with a more transmissible new variant that was first identified in South East England. .
Britain had the worst coronavirus outbreak in Europe, with more than 127,000 confirmed deaths.
Infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have all been reduced thanks to the lockdown, and a mass vaccination program that has given at least one dose to more than 60% of the adult population.
However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and epidemiologists have insisted that many people have not yet been vaccinated and that the rules that allow social renunciation, relax or allow foreign holidays this summer could cause a new infection.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at a news conference in response to the ongoing situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, within 10 10 Downing Street, London, 19 December 2020. (Toby Melville / Pool Photo via AP)
“The situation in the UK is becoming clear and stabilizing, but people need to remember that this is not the case elsewhere,” said Peter Horby, chairman of the government’s advisory group New and Emerging Respiratory Threats Advisory Group. “The pandemic is still raging worldwide.
‘And many countries in Europe even see the number of a race case or have to lock up again. “It is therefore very difficult to predict what will happen in the next few months,” he told Times Radio.
On Mondays, non-essential stores may reopen, along with hair salons, gyms and outdoor service at pubs and restaurants.
The prime minister promised to visit a pub for a pint to celebrate the occasion, but postponed the feast after the death of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, on Friday.
Indoor drinking and eating will only be allowed on May 17, and theaters, cinemas, nightclubs and most other venues will remain closed, while indoor socialization will be strictly restricted and foreign holidays will be banned.
The relaxation is good news for retail and hospitality businesses, which have endured several parts of the closure over the past year. But it’s a long way from business as usual; the British Beer and Bar Association estimates that only 40% of pubs in England have the space to be out of service again.
The rules apply in England. The other parts of the UK – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – follow their own, similar plans.
