When will it open again? Landlord of historic pub issues plea to insurers and heritage body

But George Kang says it is "structurally sound" and he is waiting partly for an insurance pay out on the building, and for Historic England to give the green light for the pub to operate again.

The building dates back to the middle of the 16th Century and was originally known as Stoke Heath Manor House. It was restored in the 1930s when a concrete skin was added to the timber frame, heritage group Historic England said.

Mr Kang, who is now working as a taxi driver,  has put in around £80,000 of his own money to renovate the pub during Covid and after the fire to make it safe.

He says Historic England, which has the building as one of 40 grade II listed have not been in touch apart from one visit after the fire and it needs them to look at the building to remove it from the 'At risk' register, so the insurance company will pay out.

"This was a real community pub and could be again, " he said.

"I really believe in it and the inside of the building is structurally sound, me and the owner have put in close to £80,000 since the fire and over £100,000 including what we did during lockdown.

"We have been busy doing plastering, painting, electrical work and making sure the building is safe. But almost a year-and-a-half since the fire we are no closer getting an insurance pay out which would really help and they say the reason is that Historic England don't believe it is safe to re-open the pub.

"But nobody has been down to see us from Historic England apart from a cursory visit just after the fire when they didn't really say anything at all about the way forward and they haven't been in touch since.

"I really believe this is a going concern, it was thriving before the fire and can do again."

A spokesman for Historic England said: “Seeing any historic building hit by an arson attack is deeply upsetting. 

In the case of the Grade II* listed Punchbowl and Greyhound we mobilised quickly, and visited the site with Wolverhampton Council then continued to provide advice and support to the owner and tenant, including photographic recording. 

"Repairs to listed buildings are the responsibility of the owner and we would expect insurance to pay for the work on the Punchbowl and Greyhound. As with any historic building that has been damaged in such a way we will continue to provide advice and support where appropriate.”