Arsonist caused blaze at derelict pub, says owner

THE owner of a derelict pub that was destroyed by a fire claims it was started deliberately.

More than 20 firefighters tackled the blaze at the former Walnut Tree in Fawley in the early hours of Thursday last week.

The building was engulfed in flames and it took them about an hour to get the fire under control.

Four fire crews, from Henley, Watlington and High Wycombe and a water carrier from Buckinghamshire were called to the pub in Roundhouse Lane, which was closed to traffic.

Thames Valley Police are investigating and are checking footage from a nearby CCTV camera.

The pub is owned by Bassam Shlewet, who also owns the Hurley House Hotel. He bought it from Brakspear in 2011.

He was alerted by a call from a villager and drove straight to the scene.

Mr Shlewet said: “This is obviously a malicious act. Police said their forensic people and those from the fire brigade forensic department would be investigating.”

Kate Waddington, who owns the neighbouring Roundhouse Farm, called Mr Shlewet.

She said: “One of my fields backs on to the pub and when I heard what I thought sounded like shots I thought someone was shooting down in the woods.

“I thought it was a strange time to be doing that. When I heard a couple more ‘shots’ I thought it strange. I then moved to the front of the house and saw this massive glow from the pub, which is only 150m away.

“I heard a fire engine siren and then I could see the blue flashing lights and the engines that were already there. I was worried because my barns, which have hay and straw in them, were very close and the flames were going right into the sky and the wind was blowing towards them. I shoved my clothes on and ran down the road and they were all there at it.”

Mrs Waddington said there had been problems with vandalism at the building, which had been empty for about 20 years.

She said: “The lead had been stripped off the roof. There have been tractors and diggers stolen and just abandoned at the pub.”

She described the firefighters as “amazing” and provided them with cups of tea.

Paul Herrington, watch manager at Henley fire station, said there was little the crews could do to salvage the pub.

He said: “By the time we arrived the pub was fully involved with the fire, from end-to-end and top to bottom. We put a couple of hose reels on it using the water we already had on the pumps while we waited for a constant water supply.

“Later, we were able to put in a central hydrant and use the water carrier as well.

“It took about an hour to bring the blaze under control but all our work was defensive in trying to stop the fire spreading to the surrounding fields. It was quite a simple job because we couldn’t do much to protect the building as there was nothing salvageable.

“We wouldn’t have been able to go into the building with a fire this big but as it has been derelict for about 20 years, there would be an added danger of it being unsafe. You could potentially have walls falling down.”

The Henley crew left the scene at about 5am, leaving the crews from Buckinghamshire damping down the building to prevent any hot spots reigniting.

Mr Shlewet said he would demolish what was left of the building.

Villagers had been campaigning for almost 20 years to have the Walnut Tree designated as an asset of community value by Buckinghamshire Council. The council said that the former pub no longer met the legal requirement of having “furthered the social wellbeing of the community in the recent past”.

Mr Shlewet had originally planned to re-open the pub but changed his mind before being given permission by Wycombe District Council in 2017 to knock down it down and build another in its place, together with four houses, which would have been sold to meet most of the costs of the development, said to be about £2 million.

Frustration among villagers at the lack of progress had been mounting for some time and eventually a group of residents offered to pay between £450,000 and £500,000 for the property.

Mr Shlewet wanted £1 million to cover the £687,000 purchase price and the cost of drawing up his plans.

He had carried out groundworks at the site, so his planning consent didn’t expire as scheduled on May 1, 2021 but became indefinite.

Mr Shlewet first introduced himself to the village at a meeting in 2015, when he attracted the community’s support by promising to revive the pub.

More than 20 residents attended a district council planning committee meeting to urge members to approve his application.

Before Mr Shlewet bought the pub, the previous owner submitted plans to convert it into a house so residents formed an action group to fight it. The proposal was rejected by the council and the owner lost an appeal so the property had been falling into disrepair ever since.

Paul Clerehugh, who runs the Crooked Billet in Stoke Row, had previously expressed an interest in the Walnut Tree and the villagers said it would have a better chance of success as a free house.