Landlords in limbo as Telford fire pub demolition looms
A couple whose Telford pub was destroyed by fire today said they are living in limbo while they wait to hear the fate of their beloved business.
Landlords Richard and Eve Harvey were made homeless when the Tayleur Arms in Longdon-upon-Tern went up in flames.
Owners of the building, Enterprise Inns, have told them they must demolish the charred ruins as they are "dangerous" and "unstable".
But the couple, who have run the pub and restaurant for five years, do not yet know if their pride and joy will be rebuilt.
Mr and Mrs Harvey hope to see the business rise from the ashes and have been living in a caravan on site since the huge blaze ripped in the early hours of March 19.
Mr Harvey said he and his wife feel "completely in the dark" but remain hopeful that they will be able to welcome their loyal customers back in the future.
The couple met with representatives from Enterprise Inns and a demolition team which had been awarded the contract to break up the remains of the 300-year-old building.
Mr Harvey said: "They said they are going to flatten the building because it's unsafe and they said they are putting an architect on site who will do a drawing of a new build and they will decide if they are going to rebuild.
"We are just in the hands of Enterprise. It's up to them what they decide to do. I don't know where we stand.
"They haven't said they are going to rebuild but they haven't said they aren't.
"We are completely in the dark.
"But I suppose there's no one at their end who knows either. It's too soon to tell.
"Somebody has been awarded the demolition contract but they haven't got a date yet.
"It's so dangerous they won't put anyone in the building to survey it until it's been flattened. So we won't know if it can be rebuilt until it's been completely knocked down.
"We were hoping part of it could be kept but it's so unstable it's all got to come down.
"They have said if they do rebuild they will use as much stuff as they can to put back into the new build."
Enterprise told the Harveys the Tayleur had been one of the top three performing eateries in their portfolio and offered them another pub, thought to be The Bull at Rodington to run in the meantime.
Mr Harvey said: "We did get offered a pub in the area while we were waiting but we turned it down because we fell in love with the Tayleur Arms.
"What we want is the Tayleur Arms rebuilt. That's where we belong and that's where our customers would hopefully come back to."
The pub proved so popular that days after the fire a campaign was mounted to bring it back to life.
Facebook page Rebuild the Tayleur Arms has more than 2,000 likes.
And residents packed out Longdon-upon-Tern village hall last night for a meeting of Rodington Parish Council where firefighters explained how low water pressure in the area hampered their efforts to tackle the flames.
Mrs Harvey said at the meeting: "It's not just the business either, we have lots of friends in the village. "We hire a lot of staff from in and around the village. We will fight for it to be rebuilt."
Chairman of Rodington Parish Council, June French said: "There's not a lot as a parish council we can do but for any planning application we are consultees and we will always look to support a good pub in the village."
Parish councillor Jacqui Seymour said: "It's absolutely devastating for such a thriving pub and such a cosy looking place if you drove through the village. It's such a tragedy really."
