Contractor 'fed up' as enforcement officers investigate £1m Marsworth pub regeneration project

Nick Webb, of Prism Construction, who is transforming The White Lion in Marsworth, says he’s poured time and resources into stabilising the 200-year-old building, which was at risk of collapse due to decades of neglect and pressure from the adjacent road, as highlighted in a Structural Engineers’ report that Mr Webb commissioned earlier this year.

“We’ve built reinforced concrete retaining walls to fully stabilise the building, for example,” Mr Webb says.

Last week, Mr Webb was visited by two enforcement officers in as many days, one of whom is claimed to have told him he was building illegally.

“I’ve applied for planning permission and complied with the Section 215 notice they previously served me with to repair the building,” Mr Webb explains.

“If I hadn’t, they could have summoned me under caution.

“I told them I’m working at my own risk, not illegally.”

The Section 215 notice, issued as soon as Mr Webb acquired the site, required urgent repairs. While the second officer acknowledged compliance and suggested the notice could be lifted, Mr Webb says the lack of communication between departments is frustrating.

“Public servants, paid by us, don’t seem to talk to each other,” he says.

Bucks Council has said its investigation into potential illegal works on the site is ongoing.

Councillor Michael Bracken said: “As the site falls within the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation Zone of Influence, the determination of the application is subject to the development of an appropriate mitigation strategy. “Separately, planning enforcement officers have visited the site following a report of an alleged breach of planning control. This investigation remains ongoing.”

The Government describes a Section 215 notice as a legal notice issued by a local planning authority under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in the UK, requiring a landowner to remedy unsatisfactory land conditions that negatively impact the local area's amenity.

The project has also been held up by delays in securing a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), a legal requirement for development near protected habitats, in this case Ashridge, to reduce footfall there. Without an approved SANG, planning permission cannot be granted - even if all other conditions are met.

Although Bucks Council has now just approved the SANG for Aylesbury Vale at Kingsbrook on September 10, Mr Webb says the legal formalities could take months, leaving him in limbo.

“We were told it would be sorted in February, then March, then August. Now it’s autumn and there are still further delays ahead, so I’ve no idea when it will go before planning.”

Mr Webb suggests that asking builders to pay a flat fee of £5,000 per home to be held in an account pending the resolution of the SANG could have allowed developments to move forward.

Meanwhile, in yet another hitch, the Canal and River Trust asked Mr Webb for £9,000 a month to permit him to use the air space over the towpath to work on the side of the building, even though his deeds seem to indicate he owns part of that space.

With buyers waiting and loan costs mounting on the £1 million-plus project, Mr Webb fears the site could sit idle for another year, while he waits for planning permission.

“I’ve had to lay off four men. We’re down to a skeleton team. With interest to pay, I know of several other builders who have gone skint over the SANG.”

Despite the setbacks, Mr Webb remains committed to the project, which has huge support from villagers as it is transforming a former eyesore at the gateway to the village.

“We’re doing it by the book - except for the planning permission, which is out of my hands.

“This building will look quality when I’m done, just like it did 150 years ago.”

Mr Webb says that while the delay due to the SANG has cost him time and money, it has made the village as a whole suffer this eyesore for five years more than it should have done.

Bucks Cabinet member Councillor Peter Brazier has been highlighting Nick’s predicament with the department and has been told that the planning officer is sympathetic. Approvals are now awaiting resolution of the SANG legalities and backlog.