The owners of an award-winning pub, who were granted permission to convert a dilapidated former B&B into an eight-bedroom boutique hotel, have spoken of their utter devastation after being forced to pull most of it down due to the building subsiding.

Jamie and Rebecca Govier have also said they are shocked and appalled at the abuse they’ve received on social media, after photos were posted online showing essential safety work being carried out on Keepers Cottage in Old Langho.

Mr Govier told the Lancashire Telegraph people had left comments under posts in a private Facebook group abusing his wife, and assuming the couple were in the process of demolishing Keepers Cottage.

Their permitted work was likened to the actions of the Donelan family, who were responsible and ultimately found guilty of illegally demolishing the Punch Bowl Inn in Hurst Green in June 2021.

READ MORE: Five fined £20k for demolishing Punch Bowl and ordered to rebuild pub

Mr and Mrs Govier, who own the Black Bull in Old Langho, submitted a planning application to Ribble Valley Council in September 2022 for Keepers Cottage, which is located across the road from their pub.

The property, which dates back to the early 1700s, is situated at the junction of Northcote Road and Old Langho Road, close to Brockhall Village, but has sat empty for several years.

In March 2022, after acquiring the property, Mr and Mrs Govier announced their plans to convert the run-down building into a boutique hotel by demolishing some parts of the building and creating an eight-bedroomed establishment featuring a guest lounge with bar, terrace, kitchen and breakfast room.

Their plans, which were never to demolish the whole building, more to repair and transform it, and put it back into use, were approved in December 2022, and work began at the site in 2023.

READ MORE: Keepers Cottage in Old Langho to be transformed into boutique hotel

However, following heavy rain throughout most of January and February, the Govier’s were alerted last week to dangerous subsiding of part of Keepers Cottage.

The building has become unsafe and a hazard to the public, especially those crossing the junction at Northcote Road and Old Langho Road.

Jamie Govier said on Friday (February 23): “We had the council out today and yesterday, as well as building control, who have told us to pull most of it down.

“Our primary focus is to make it safe, which has come at a huge cost to us.

Lancashire Telegraph: Much of Keepers Cottage has had to be pulled down, which has devastated its owners, Rebecca and Jamie Govier Much of Keepers Cottage has had to be pulled down, which has devastated its owners, Rebecca and Jamie Govier (Image: NQ Staff)

“We had to close the road and took the decision to do that ourselves, but then the police came and assisted, and the council and highways were contacted so that everything was done properly.

“We’ve lost a lot of money because of this. This was never our intention, to pull this much of the building down. It’s going to cost a significant amount to get it back to the standard it was before this happened.

“We are devastated, and then to have received the abuse we have on social media is just totally unfair.

"The abuse directed at my wife, at me, at the contractors, who are just doing their jobs, there’s been an assumption that there’s some kind of foul play going on but that’s not the case at all.

"We never wanted this to happen, and for people to be nasty and start accusing us, the level of abuse we’ve had is devastating.

“It’s not another Punch Bowl Inn. That’s the first thing people have said, but it’s not.

"We live in this community, if there was some assertion we wanted to knock it down we wouldn’t have been paying builders and contractors all this time to keep it up.”

Mr Govier said discovering the building was subsiding has set them back tenfold, but he is determined to have a plan of action in place so that he, his wife, and the contractors can move forward.

He went on: “The plan now is to make it safe and take down what needs to be taken down.

“We are still trying to save the King George post box at the corner, because that’s part of the community too, but it’s all going to cost a lot.

“We will be putting structural scaffolding up and then we’ll have to carry out more surveys and work in line with Ribble Valley Council.

“That’s all we’ve ever done since we put the plans in; we’ve worked with the council and all the works that have taken place since have been in line with council approval. We are compliant and have been since the beginning.

“This is not a fly-by-night process, we’ve done everything we possibly can to maintain what we knew was an unfit building, and we’re doing it for the community.”

Mr Govier said working alongside the council he and the contractors need to uncover what has been causing Keepers Cottage to subside, but it’s looking likely that rectifying it will be out of his immediate control.

He added: “We suspect there’s an underlying issue, or something has given way under the road because of all the rain.

“The rate at which the building dropped was very quick.

“To be honest, my focus now is not about a personal loss, it’s that no-one gets hurt. There are people walking past the building every day walking their dogs, or driving past, I’m just thankful no-one has been hurt.

“Of course, we’re devastated but we won’t be able to do anything else at the site until it’s safe.”

A Ribble Valley Council spokesperson said: “The council is aware of the works being carried out at Keeper’s Cottage, Old Langho.

“Council officers attended site on Thursday, February 22, and coordinated the necessary road closure.

“Officers also attended site on Friday, February 23. Works are ongoing to make the site safe.”