A couple who carried out unauthorised works on their 16th century property in Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire – Old Gunsbrook House – face a £60,000 bill for ignoring its Grade II listing.
… discoveries triggered a three year prosecution case…
… [we will] do everything we can to hold those who flout the rules of our planning system to account…
The Daily Mail writes:
A wealthy car dealership boss and his wife who ripped apart their 16th century mansion after buying it for almost £3.5 million are facing a bill of £60,000 for ignoring its Grade II listing.
Leroy Bangs, 58, and wife Wendy, 61, were convicted of preservation order breaches relating to the sprawling house in Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire, after a neighbour tipped off the council…
Wooden frames dating back 500 years had been torn out and modern Perspex was used in windows at the ancient home, which has been Grade II listed since 1955.
… experts from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council visited the home, and their discoveries triggered a three year prosecution case which ended this week at Reading Crown Court…
Judge Sarah Campbell fined each of them £15,000 and ordered that they should also pay council costs of more than £29,000. She said that the fine would have been larger had the building not been a private residence and therefore not open to the public.
During their renovations of Old Gunsbrook House it was said the couple removed at least one historic chimney stack from the dining room fireplace, created new openings in the structure for extra windows, removed 16th century timber from the bedroom and bathroom to make a wider doorway and changed the level of the roof.…
Judge Campbell was told that when the couple purchased their home, they were made aware of the property’s Grade II status…
Councillor David Coppinger, lead member for planning at the Windsor and Maidenhead local authority said: ‘This was a blatant breach of planning rules that saw a Grade II listed building altered without the owners paying attention to the proper process and I’m delighted with the outcome of the case.
‘I am particularly pleased for the council’s enforcement and conservation team who have spent more than three years working on this case and I pay tribute to their hard work in bringing it to court. The court also ordered that all our costs be paid.
‘We will take all necessary steps to protect the borough’s historic and listed buildings and do everything we can to hold those who flout the rules of our planning system to account.’
