A Twickenham resident who demolished his 19th century house, has been ordered to pay £80,000, a record fine for demolishing a house in a Conservation Area without Conservation Area Consent.
In June 2010, the Council gave John Johnson permission to build a two-storey side, rear extension and basement, to his house in 6 Trafalgar Road, Twickenham. But nowhere in the application was it said this would involve the demolition of the whole property.
The house was a designated building of townscape merit and is in a conservation area. Without Conservation Area Consent, the house was demolished. Due to this serious breach of planning control,Richmond Council pursued this as a criminal matter in the Courts.
Because of the seriousness of the case, the Magistrates referred the matter to the Crown Court in Kingston, who yesterday fined Mr Johnson £80,000. This is the highest fine imposed to date for demolishing a building in a conservation area, reflecting His Honour Judge Dodgson’s view that the financial benefit, the level of culpability and the level of harm were so serious that a high fine was required. The previous highest fine was £56,000. John Johnson also has to pay a large proportion of the Councils costs of bringing the prosecution to Court (£42,500).
The fine takes into consideration the irreplaceable harm to the Conservation Area and loss of heritage together with the considerable savings that Mr Johnson believed he could make by demolishing the property and rebuilding it, rather than extending and refurbishing, as set out in the original approved planning application.
Councillor Virginia Morris, the Council’s Cabinet member for Environment and Planning, said: ‘
I really welcome the Courts decision to fine Mr Johnson £80,000. He also has to pay the Councils costs of bringing the prosecution to Court, which is a further £42,500 as well as his own legal and experts costs. If Mr Johnson does not pay these sums to the Court within one year, it will mean that he could face imprisonment for 21 months.’
‘I hope that this will now demonstrate to residents and other developers in the borough that planning regulations need to be taken very seriously and cannot be disregarded or disrespected. I hope this will serve as a deterrent to those considering not complying with planning and conservation requirements. Those who flout the law in such matters will have to face the consequences.’
For more media information, please email e.ridgeway@richmond.gov.uk
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