Published on 9th September 2014

Cheltenham Borough Council has won an appeal made by Nina Salerno, owner of 24 Lansdown Parade, Cheltenham, which is a Grade II listed building.

Salerno pleaded guilty at court in June to carrying out unauthorised works to the property, including removing and replacing the staircase and removing and replacing/re-positioning three fireplaces. The works carried out were deemed to affect the property’s character as a building of special, architectural or historic interest.

The matter went before Cheltenham Magistrates Court on 16 June 2014 where the defendant was found guilty of the charges brought against her and ordered to pay the council’s full legal costs within 14 days of the trial.

Nina Salerno appealed against the issuing of a Listed Building Enforcement Notice (LBEN) by Cheltenham Borough Council. A planning inspector appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State has dismissed the appeal, stating: ‘the requirements of the notice set out exactly what would be required for the purposes of restoring the character of the building to its state before the unauthorised works took place."

Following the successful prosecution of Mrs Salerno and the unsuccessful appeal by Mrs Salerno against the LBEN an application has now been submitted to the council for Listed Building Consent (LBC) to remove the unauthorised fire surrounds and staircase balustrade to be replaced with more appropriate designs.

Mike Redman, director of environmental and regulatory services, said: “Prosecutions are only used by this authority in the most serious cases, usually where a satisfactory resolution cannot be achieved by working with the owner of a property. Our enforcement team is committed to protecting the heritage of our beautiful town for future generations and in particular, its large number of listed buildings. We will continue to carry out inspections and respond to complaints about unauthorised changes to listed buildings, using our statutory powers when necessary.”

For press enquiries contact: Kelly Carter, communications officer, telephone 01242 264154, email [email protected]

 

Notes:
The date the enforcement notice was issued - 1 November 2013
The date of the appeal site visit - 28 July 2014
The date the appeal was made - 22 November 2013
The date the decision was made - 5 August 2014