There may by more than 10,000 miles separating them, but once-popular pubs in Westminster and Victoria, Australia, have an uncanny number of similarities.
Apart from the name, the Carlton Tavern in Maida Vale and the Carlton Inn in Melborne have both been illegitimately knocked down by developers.
And just like the London pub, authorities in Australia are now compelling the owners of the 159-year-old Carlton Inn to rebuild the establishment - after being inspired by the Carlton Tavern campaign.
The story south of the equator remarkably mirrors the Carlton Tavern in Westminster, which was demolished in April 2015, in breach of the council’s planning decision and in spite of the fact it was being considered for Grade II listing.
The council served an enforcement notice to the developers, CLTX Ltd, calling for the rebuilding of the popular community pub “brick by brick”.
The Carlton Tavern is now required to be rebuilt following a ruling by the Planning Inspectorate and it appears the precedent set is reaching far and wide.
'Australians and the English have a shared love of their history - and their pubs'
The State of Victoria’s Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne, said: “I first heard about the Carlton in Westminster when people started sending me news clips, suggesting the same rebuild order should be levelled at the owners of our own Carlton pub.
“Australians and the English have a shared love of their history - and their pubs.
“Rebuild orders for two Carlton pubs in separate hemispheres serve as a warning, people will not stand for illegal demolition of their history.”
'Far-reaching impact'
Councillor Robert Davis MBE DL, Westminster City Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Built Environment, said: “It is truly extraordinary that the local Westminster campaign to get the Carlton Tavern rebuilt brick-by-brick has had such a far-reaching impact.
“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.”
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