BBC show halts Punch pub housing plan
A bid by Punch Taverns to convert a community pub into 13 houses has been halted following a BBC investigation.
Planning for demolition and building of houses at the Cross Guns in Washwood Heath, Birmingham has been temporarily halted after Inside Out West Midlands picked up the case.
Programme makers questioned whether a proper viability study had been undertaken and Punch's claim that there were 23 pubs within a one mile radius. Inside Out claimed there were just six.
Punch said: "We never had any intention to mislead the planning authority and our application was made in good faith based on data from an industry leading third party."
This story will be shown on BBC Inside Out West Midlands, on BBC One on Monday, 8 March at 1930 or can be viewed on the iPlayer.
