Landlord's shock after council rip hole in grade two listed pub

Robert Ranson has ran the Hanover Inn, which is a grade two listed building, in Church Street, Harwich, for five years alongside wife Teresa.

While he was out on Monday he received a call from one of his children saying someone had ripped the sign off the property which was built in the 17th century.

Mr Ranson said: “We didn’t know what to think, or have any idea as to what had happened. The children wondered what the hell was going on.

“Then the next morning I had a call from the council apologising saying they tried calling and knocked on the door, but no-one answered so they assumed it was unoccupied and, deeming the sign unsafe, ripped it down.

“I know they didn’t bother to call me because I didn’t have anything come through and they said they had no other contact details.

The hole left ripped in the wall

“That’s strange, because they got through just fine when they realised they needed to cover their backs.

“They told me they visited the site and deemed the sign unsafe so it had to come down. It would’ve been nice if I was at least given 48 hours to get it sorted myself.

“They clearly didn’t investigate, they just presumed the place was empty and ripped it down.”

Mr Ranson is struggling to sell the pub and now, with a gaping hole in the wall, is going to find it even tougher.

However, Tendring Council, who took action against the sign, said it was taken down after a report from a member of the public.

The Hanover pub's sign

Will Lodge, the council’s communications manager, said: “The sign was assessed by one of our surveyors, and attempts made to contact the property owner.

“Unfortunately we could not reach the owner, and due to the dangerous nature of the structure and risk to passers-by decided immediate action was needed to ensure everyone’s safety.

“Even if we had been able to make contact with the owner, we would have insisted on immediate action due to the safety concerns.

“The sign is secure at our depot and ready for return to the owner, and we are returning to waterproof the building as best we can.

“We apologise to the owner for the inconvenience this has caused, and are aware it is a listed building, but we must uphold our duty to protect public safety.”