Pembrokeshire County Council has taken direct action to remove a lean-to that was built against a neighbour’s listed building without consent.
Paul Mason built the lean to without planning permission or listed building consent from the Council contrary to section 43 of Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
As a result, the Council issued a Listed Buildings Enforcement Notice on June 17th 2021.
The notice related to ‘the construction of a rendered blockwork outbuilding within the curtilage of 1, Newport Road, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, and the attachment of this building to the neighbouring property at 1, Glyn-y-Mel Road, Lower Town, Fishguard.’
The notice required demolition of the outbuilding and removal of all the resultant materials from the site and reinstatement of the gable end wall of 1, Glyn-y-Mel Road, to its former condition within three months.
Mr Mason appealed against but a Planning Inspector from Planning Decisions Environment Wales subsequently dismissed the appeal and upheld the Council’s enforcement notice on December 22nd 2022.
The Inspector considered that the outbuilding had a detrimental effect on the special character and setting of the listed buildings and that its removal was necessary to restore the architectural character of the listed building to its former condition.
After the appeal, the Council brought a prosecution for non-compliance with the requirements of the Notice.
Mr Mason pleaded guilty on the day of the trial on December 7th 2023 and was required to pay a fine, costs and victim surcharge.
Following prosecution, the owner failed to carry out the demolition of the outbuilding and so the Council’s Planning Enforcement Team stepped in and undertook direct action by way of contractors to remove the illegal outbuilding.
The outbuilding was removed on March 6th 2024 and the architectural character of the listed building has been restored.
The cost of the demolition will be recovered from Mr Mason.
Following the action, Cllr Jon Harvey, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery, said: “It is sad that this situation had to get to this point and this is the first time in more than 10 years that the Council has been forced to take direct action.
“However, it was clear that the defendant was not willing to comply with the terms of the enforcement notice requiring removal so we have taken the necessary action.
“I thank our teams involved, including the Planning Enforcement and Legal officers and hope this action demonstrates our commitment to enforcing breaches of planning control and upholding the integrity of the decision making process.”
