A pub at the centre of a planning battle between its owner and the council is to be put on the market again – sparking a six-month window for the community to bid to buy it.
Charlie Southall has informed Brighton and Hove City Council he intends to put the Montreal Arms on the market.
And because residents successfully applied to have it designated as an asset of community value, this means the sale cannot happen until they’ve had a chance to raise the money to buy it.
A notice has been put up outside the pub to publicise the sale. It says Mr Southall notified the council on 23 September of his intention to sell the freehold.
This started a six-week period in which community interest groups can write to the council to asking to be considered as a potential bidder, with a deadline of 3 November.
If nobody applies, the sale can go ahead unhindered. If anyone applies, this triggers a six-month moratorium on the sale to give the group the chance to raise money to make a bid by 22 March next year.
However, Mr Southall would not have to accept any bid – even if it exceeds other offers, or no other offers have been made.
This is the second time the pub has been put on the market since being made an ACV. The first time, the council did not publicise the fact it had been informed, and no expressions of interest were made.
However, the pub – which was being marketed by Savills with offers of more than £425,000 invited – did not sell and was subsequently taken back off the market.
The pub has not been listed for sale on any of the main commercial property portals online, including Savills.
Mr Southall bought it for £420,000 in March 2022. The following month, he started ripping off its green tiles, despite pledging he had no plans to do so just weeks before.
The council issued a stop notice, and then an enforcement notice requiring him to replace them.
Company accounts filed since then said the enforcement action and its registration as an asset of community value (ACV) had lowered its value to an estimated £150,000.
The council eventually launched a prosecution for failing to comply with the notice. However, a planning inspector subsequently ruled the council had been unreasonable in refusing to allow him to remove all the remaining tiles before replacing them.
A crown court judge then asked the council to explain why it had not halted the prosecution at that point – after which the council withdrew its case.
The judge then ruled the prosecution had been unreasonable and ordered the council to pay Mr Southall’s costs.
Part of the back of the pub has since been knocked down, in line with planning permission to restore the pub granted in 2024. No other visible work has been done.
It will never be a pub again. Knock it down and build some housing.
Buy it, try it, see what the Council thinks of YOUR idea based on YOUR money.