Enforcement officers attended the site but the majority of the building had been knocked down when they arrived. The Council has confirmed that it is currently reviewing the position regarding the next steps.
According to a local newspaper, the pub's landlady, Patsy Lord was told that the pub was closed for an inventory, she was given no prior warning and the full contents of the pub were still inside. A spokeswoman for Historic England said that the pub was "remarkably well preserved externally and internally, it displayed hierarchy of rooms in their fixtures, fittings and decorative treatment and retained all its external signage." She went on to say how "[it] intended to recommend the site for listing at grade II" by the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
The Council and neighbours were reportedly also concerned with the lack of safety precautions. Councillor Tom Crockett explained how the demolition was "conducted without any obvious safety precautions such as hoardings, barrier or formal traffic controls."
Developers submitted a planning application last year and proposed to demolish and replace the existing pub with a six storey building, including a lower ground level, comprising of a new pub, 10 residential units with associated landscaping and cycle parking.
Following negotiations between the Council and the developer, the Council decided to reject the proposal. The decision notice stated that "the bulk, height and detailed design, [of] the new building would be detrimental to the view from the adjacent Maida Vale Conservation Area." Therefore, affecting the appearance of the area and failing to "preserve or enhance the setting of the neighbouring Maida Vale Conservation Area."
Planning expert George Wilson of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said:
"The approach by the developer or the owner of the pub in this case reflects an increasing number of pubs that are being listed as an Asset of Community Value or, as appears in this case, recommended for listing as a listed building. Such listings restrict future development proposals and affect the ability of the owner to deal freely with the land. Increasingly, owners may see blatant breaches of planning control as the preferred approach to avoid such restrictions but that will require local authorities to increase enforcement actions as a result."