A company has been fined for removing a shopfront on a listed building in Hythe High Street and installing a modern replacement.
Hythe-based G&S Group Enterprise Ltd, removed and replaced the post office shopfront without the required planning permission and Listed Building Consent.
The new shopfront was considered inappropriate for the listed building and conservation area and, therefore, unacceptable and Folkestone & Hythe District Council issued enforcement notices which were not complied with by the property owners.
The company admitted breaching both the enforcement notice and the listed building enforcement notice at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court. (7 February 2024).
It was fined £3000 for breaching the two notices and ordered to pay a £1200 victim surcharge and £180 costs. It is understood that the owner now intends to comply with the enforcement notices.
Leader Cllr Jim Martin said: “Listed buildings have their special architectural and historic interest protected by law and it is the owners’ responsibility to ensure the appropriate consents are sought before changes are made.
“We always try to resolve cases without the need for formal action, but when the necessary actions are not taken by building owners, the appropriate enforcement proceedings must take place.”