Pointing prompts council to act (From Dorset Echo)

Pointing prompts council to act

11:35am Tuesday 19th August 2008

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COUNCILLORS will decide whether to take action against a former colleague over unauthorised alterations to her Grade-II listed home.

A report by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council says "unauthorised and inappropriate" stonework and pointing elements have been added to 12 High Street, Wyke Regis.

Part of the property, which is the home of former borough councillor Kate Wheller and her husband Michael, is thought to date back to Tudor times.

A report by the council's planning, economy and development services manager, Simon Williams, says the Whellers carried out structural repairs to the building's underlying masonry "without the benefit of consultation with the planning unit and/or the necessary listed building consent."

It is the second time the Whellers have faced action for making the unauthorised changes to the property.

In September 2005 councillors voted to allow the changes, already made to the property by the Whellers without prior consultation, to remain in place.

Mr Williams' latest report said that last August "the applicant had provided assurances that work to correct the unauthorised elements would commence shortly."

He said this included getting the building's mortar analysed so it could be properly matched in future works.

Mr Williams added: "This has not been done and at the time of finalising this report no further correspondence from the applicant has been received."

The report said officers had tried contacting the couple on numerous occasions to discuss the building before making the application to serve an enforcement notice.

Mrs Wheller said she and her husband were "really surprised" by a letter they received from the council threatening an enforcement notice on the property.

She said: "This is a listed property and the council have paid no attention to it at all for years while it deteriorated.

"The planning committee at the council previously said they thought the building looked better after the work we've had done."

Mrs Wheller added that she and her husband had received no correspondence from the council on the issue before last November and that they were "anxious" to get the situation resolved.

She added: "They take ages to respond to our letters. They demand responses from us immediately but they've taken months to get back to us."

The borough council's planning and traffic committee will decide tomorrow whether to serve a notice against the Whellers to reverse the changes made to the property.

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