Man fined for unauthorised solar panels on listed building

Stratford-on-Avon District Council has successfully prosecuted a man for failing to comply with a Listed Building Enforcement Notice.

Mr Stanley Holland of Nut Tree Barn, Alderminster was issued with a Listed Building Enforcement Notice in May 2015 under The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act to remove an array of solar panels that had been put up on the roof of a Listed Building without permission.

The process of resolving this matter was delayed by an unsuccessful appeal against the Notice.

The Listed Building Enforcement Notice was not complied with and legal proceedings were started. The solar panels were removed and the roof was made good shortly before the case was heard.

Mr Holland pleaded guilty to the offence and Nuneaton Magistrates Court fined him £400 and awarded the District Council £1,640 costs (and also required to pay a £40 victim surcharge) for failing to comply with the Listed Building Enforcement Notice.

Cllr Phillip Seccombe, local ward member for Ettington, said: “I have always put the case for protecting our Heritage assets in the District and am pleased that the District Council has pursued this case."

Cllr Peter Richards, Chairman of Regulatory Committee said: “All efforts to achieve a negotiated solution were unsuccessful in this instance. Issuing a Listed Building Enforcement Notice and then pursuing a prosecution when the Notice was not complied with clearly shows our commitment to protecting Listed Buildings and preserving our heritage for all."

A Listed Building Enforcement Notice is served to require the landowner to remedy the harm caused by works to a listed building without the relevant listed building consent, and failure to comply with the notice is a criminal offence with unlimited fines.

The unauthorised erection of solar panels on this listed building had been a long standing issue, significant effort had been made to resolve the matter without progressing to legal recourse and sufficient time had been allowed for the owner to remedy the harm without success.

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