Owners who bulldozed ahistoric 18th-century northern pub have been fined nearly £70,000and ordered to rebuild it, brick by brick, within a year.
The Punch Bowl Inn on Longridge Road, Hurst Green, was bulldozed by Donelan Trading Ltd in June 2021, despite warnings from Ribble Valley Borough Council that to do so would be considered a criminal offense.
A trial last year at Burnley Magistrates’ Court found that Andrew Donelan, Nicola Donelan and Rebecca Donelan, David Cotterell, and Brian Ingleby unlawfully demolished the pub despite having been warned not to do so in advance by email.
The five people responsible were ordered to pay a total of £69,125 in damages today at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court, and inspectors have confirmed that they will also have to rebuild it in full within the space of 12 months.
The pub is rich in local history and is said to be haunted by the ghost of 1730’s fugitive highwayman Ned King, who reportedly fled Essex with a high price of his head and headed north – eventually arriving at the village of Hurst Green, between Longridge and Clitheroe.
A member of the infamous Essex Gang of robbers – most of whom had already been captured and hung at Tyburn Gallows for horse theft, deer poaching and highway robbery – he is thought to have travelled alongside Dick Turpin before ultimately meeting his demise.
The pub, built in the 1720s, was visited by the fugitive on several occassions, and local legend has it that landlord Jonathan Brisco became friends with Ned and tipped him off to which of the customers staying at the inn would make good marks.
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Following a previous hearing at Burnely Magistrates Court, where a key witness, construction firm boss Gez Pegram, told the jury that there had been ‘no need’ to demolish the pub, District Judge Alex Boyd handed the group a total fine of £22,250, prosecution costs of £44,650 and a £2,225 surcharge.
The planning inspectorate also ordered that the council’s full costs must be repaid by the company.
The decision to demolish the pub was taken by Donelan Trading Ltd and a contractor after they grew tired of waiting for the council. Their defense team also claimed that the site had been targeted by arsonists and was falling into disrepair.
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Whilst criminal proceedings were ongoing, the company was sent an order by local planning inspectors to rebuild the pub they then tried to appeal.
However, their appeal was rejected – leaving them responsible for putting the boozer back together as it once.
The order states that they will need to ensure that the internal and external of the building are in line with the plans attached to the notice. This means going through the rubble with experts and working out what can be salvaged for the rebuild.
Any materials that can’t be salvaged must be bought again and approved before their use to ensure they are as historically accurate as possible.
Representing the council, Mr Killian Garvey said: “Given the defendants have to rebuild the building, we understand they will have financial burdens in that effect.
“That will also reinstate some of the planning harm that has been caused.
“The council would say that a listed building that has been demolished and rebuilt will not have the same character as if it were just left.”
District Judge Alex Boyd said: “This prosecution follows the demolition without authorisation of the Punch Bowl Inn on June 15, 2021.
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“The purpose of these requirements is to protect the building for current and future generations to enjoy.”
We’ve found some of the best Chinese food in town – being served out of a snooker hall
Danny Jones
Yes, you heard us right: we’ve stumbled across one of our favourite new places for Chinese food just on the outskirts of Manchester city centre – it just so happens to be served out of a best-in-class snooker hall.
And that really is just the tip of the iceberg here.
Some of you may have heard about and/or seen it already, but we’ll admit we were a little late to the party when it comes to Club 200, a.k.a. the pool, snooker, darts, mahjong club and more, which has so many different things rolled into that it’s really more a Russian doll than a Chinese restaurant or sports venue.
The hook speaks for itself: a place where people spend just as much time practising with chopsticks as they do their cues, as it really isn’t a gimmick, as some pessimistic folk would have you think – the food is banging and so are the vibes in general.
Not only is this quite literally the best snooker club in Manchester – complete with everything from classic American billiards and Chinese 8-ball to king-size snooker tables that the Ronnie O’Sullivan has played and won on, to a special AI system you won’t find anywhere else – it is SO much more than that.
Whilst the backroom was packed with everyone from casuals to those looking to get their pro certification via the official Q Tour, and lads in the front were practising their arrows, as co-owner Simon admitted they get almost just as many darts regulars these days, a storm was cooking up in the kitchen.
It would be unfair to say this place doubles as a bar and restaurant, because we really couldn’t get over how well put together this menu was.
‘Café 200’s food offerings involve classics like fried rice and chow mein dishes, to the kind of sides you could expect from your local Chinese chippy, but it’s even more authentic exports that really impress.
For instance, the beef ho fun seemed to be a big hit with everyone; we loved the salty seafood udon as well (a great chew on those noodles), and we know plenty of people still searching for proper Hong Kong-style French toast – they might just find it here.
Speaking of the special administrative region, which has a twisting and turning but nevertheless rich culinary culture all of its own, that last dish had us hopping with joy.
You’re looking at baked Portuguese rice: a Macau speciality rooted in the region’s colonial history.
We’ve never quite had anything like it before, even in all of our years eating this kind of cuisine around the 10 boroughs, but we haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
And then there’s everything else they do, from karaoke and bingo nights to catering for birthdays and other functions, or even just serving as a cool, somewhat tucked-away spot to watch the footy and other live sport come the weekend.
You can tell this place has built up a real community over the last 18 months or so, and while the food speaks for itself, it’s the sheer abundance and variety going on that makes it especially charming to so many.
Speaking of jack-of-all-trade venues, we stumbled across a similar multi-talented one over in Salford not so long ago, too…
The Franco Manca ‘pizza run’ explained – it involves freebies
Danny Jones
If you’ve been wondering why you’re seeing a lot of free pizza lately – especially among any of your mates that happen to be runners – but just hadn’t bothered to actually ask, we’re here to explain the current Franco Manca pizza ‘run trend’.
And yes, we were the foolish ones enough to have not quizzed any of our jogging chums until now, meaning we’ve missed out on more money and free pizza. Sigh.
Nevermind, though, because at least we spotted it before the end of the month (this being Franco Manca’s main January deal), and we dare say that now you’ve heard about it, you’ll see plenty others popping up on social media with their free slices.
That’s right, it may be a very thin slice with a very long and thin slice, but that is as much of a pizza slice outline as we needed to qualify for the current deal.
Yes, we’re aware that the actual pepperonis on ours are more square than most – listen, we did our best, and we’ve certainly seen people pulling off better overall shaped pizzas than us; that’s part of the fun/and or challenge.
For instance, we didn’t mean for our picture to come out with one long crust running down either…
So, how does it work, you ask? Well, it’s quite simple, to be fair. All you have to do is run a pizza-shaped route (any pizza shape works, by the way), map your route on the likes of Strava or Apple Fitness, etc., then show your creation at your nearest and claim a quid off for every kilometre you run.
As advertised on the ‘Map My Pizza Run’ page on their website, the aim isn’t about putting pressure or hitting a strict target; you simply get rewarded the longer you go.
Here’s a handy example from a local running content creator for you:
In our case, we joined up with native run club, Manchester Road Runners, for one of their regular social ‘SLRs’ (Sunday Long Run), chalking off 19km, which meant £19 off your next pizza – i.e. FREE and then some, baby.
Not only did the local group give themselves the perfect motivation as part of their training for the 2026 Manchester Marathon, but we also found that the steadier, chatty pace was super helpful for getting through the whole thing.
There are some stipulations, such as not being used in conjunction with any other offer, one pizza map being valid per person, and the route has to have been run in January. You can find the full terms and conditions HERE.
Oh, and technically, you can do it however you like: run, walk, cycle – you name it. Other than that, we’ve pretty much given you all the info you need to know, so go and get yourself some free pizza.
Georgina Pellant -
9th March 2023 
