The owner of a Grade II (GII) listed building in historic Hampstead Garden Suburb who repeatedly ignored council officers’ advice while carrying out building work has been fined £45,000 by magistrates.
Barnet London Borough writes:
Maurice Lawee, of 1 Wildwood Road, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, pleaded guilty to four offences of carrying out unauthorised work to a listed building at Willesden Magistrates’ on 13 January in a prosecution brought by Barnet Council.
The court heard that Mr Lawee bought his house near the Hampstead Heath Extension in 2008 for £3.7m within the historic Hampstead Garden Suburb Conservation area. The house was built in 1912 by Arts and Crafts architect George Lister Sutcliffe and listed in November 1996.
In 2010 Mr Lawee was granted listed building consent for an extension to his basement with the installation of a lift and conversion of a garage.
However, complaints were received by the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust that Mr Lawee was carrying out unauthorised work beyond that granted consent on his property.
Conservation officers from Re* visited the site and ordered work to stop. But despite repeated assurances by Mr Lawee and his architect that work would stop, further site visits showed they had carried on regardless.
Due to the extent of the unconsented works carried out to the listed building, Barnet Council decided to prosecute Mr Lawee in one of the first cases of its kind undertaken by the authority.
Among the unapproved works carried out by Mr Lawee were; building two large conservatories at the back of the house; completely altering the house’s internal layout, including removing internal walls, knocking out chimney breasts, alcoves, the original staircase, doors and architraves; incorporating outside utility buildings into the main structure of the house; and causing significant harm to the distinctive ‘Flemish bond’ brickwork.
Mr Lawee was fined a total of £45,000 for the four offences and ordered to pay the council’s costs of £14,000. It is the third highest fine to be issued in a Magistrates court for this particular type of offence.
The solicitor from Barnet Council’s shared legal practice, HB Public Law, who presented case, said: ‘Despite officers giving repeated warnings that work must stop and on occasions, promises being made for this to happen, works continued regardless stripping out much of the interior of the house, changing the proportions and the spaces, partially demolishing the outhouses and building.
‘Irreversable damage has been caused to the brickwork and outhouse and original features appear to have been destroyed or removed from the building.’
Mr Lawee has since applied for retrospective consent for the works, some of which have been granted and others refused.
Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius, said: ‘Mr Lawee showed a blatant disregard for the fact he was living in a conservation area in a Grade II listed building when he decided to alter his house in the way he chose fit. Planning laws are there for a reason and the high level of fine reflects the seriousness of this breach.’
David Davidson, Architectural Adviser for the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust, said: ‘The Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust is very pleased that the Court has taken these offenses seriously and imposed such a substantial fine on the building owner.
‘The Suburb is an area of international significance in the history of town planning and architecture, and alterations to its buildings need to be carefully considered in order to retain its special characteristics. Mr Lawee chose to ignore the planning regulations which exist to protect Listed Buildings from damaging alterations.
‘The London Borough of Barnet has rightly pursued this offence with due persistence. The result will hopefully deter other owners of Listed Buildings from similar actions and ensure that they get the necessary approvals before carrying out works of alteration.’
Hampstead Garden Suburb was founded in 1907 by Dame Henrietta Barnett. It is internationally recognised as one of the finest examples of early twentieth century domestic architecture and town planning, and home to approximately 13,000 people.
* Re is a joint venture between London Borough of Barnet and Capita plc. It provides development and regulatory services to residents in Barnet and the South East. The company formed in October 2013.
