Brighton pub owner who destroyed historic tiles has been given a year to replace them Brighton News

Mr Southall was seen handing out leaflets claiming the tiles were beyond repair as a team of workers destroyed them with drills.

After issuing a temporary shutdown notice following complaints, Brighton and Hove City Council issued a new shutdown notice and an enforcement notice requiring the tiles to be reinstated within a year.

A council spokesperson said council officials needed to consider whether further longer-term action should be taken, as a temporary stop notice can only last 28 days and current legislation prevents the council from issue another.

The pub’s new owner previously said it planned to house Ukrainian refugees

He said: “Officers liaised with colleagues in our legal department and reviewed the information provided by the owner. This included concerns about the lintels of the building.

“In light of this, we have served notice of execution with the notice to stop the removal of the tiles. This includes an exception allowing tiles to be removed to allow for repairs to lintels.

“It is specified in the notices that this exception relates to the minimum number of tiles which can be removed for the purpose of repairing the lintels. The notice of execution imposes the replacement of these tiles.

“The notice of execution also requires the reinstallation of glazed ceramic tiles at all elevations where they have been removed or damaged as a result of unauthorized work. The deadline for compliance is one year after the entry into force of the opinion.

The destruction of the tiles sparked outrage from Hanoverians and Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas, who called the damage “utter vandalism” which “cannot go unchallenged”.

Mr Southall had started crowdfunding to renovate the arms of Montreal to allow refugees to be housed there, but abandoned the effort after neighbors questioned his motives and pointed out the significant profit he could achieve.

Ruth Boyd, a resident of Hanover, said while the aim was to convert the pub into accommodation for refugees, there was no need to remove the historic tiles.

She said: “The fact that he chose to attack the ancient tiles, the most visible part of the building, feels like a petty and bitter attack on the community.

“He doesn’t have a building permit or apparently the funds to do the necessary work for his ‘philanthropic project’ inside the building.

“Instead, he wastes time and money hacking into the property’s perfectly functional exterior, knowing it would bother and offend those of us who want Montreal to continue as a public house.”

The stop notice takes effect from April 27, with the execution notice taking effect from May 24.