The demolished Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale

THE campaign to rebuild the demolished Carlton Tavern is well known in Westminster.

But in a remarkable coincidence a very similar situation has arisen Down Under.

The Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale was knocked down without permission by developers CTLX Ltd in April last year. Residents spent months fighting for the pub to be rebuilt “brick by brick” and the council served up an enforcement notice on developers who, it appears, have agreed to do just that.

Now Diary hears that authorities in Melbourne, Australia, have ordered developers to restore a historic pub with the same name – after it was knocked down, reportedly, without the proper permission.

The remains of the Carlton in Melbourne Photo: Kwanghui Lim

In Australia, a petition has been launched to restore their historic Carlton Inn pub, which was first built in the 1800s.

Campaigners were reportedly inspired by the Maida Vale group who are fighting to get their pub back.

Responding to the news from Australia, Westminster Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Robert Davis, told Diary: “Our colleagues in Melbourne deserve a huge amount of credit – they have set a clear precedent that communities will not stand for this kind of scandalous act.

“I hope that when both of these historic pubs are rebuilt they will stand as a symbol for the power of local communities to stand up for the special heritage of their much-loved public houses.”