Councillor cleared of misconduct over demolished wall (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Councillor cleared of misconduct over demolished wall

AN internal investigation has cleared a Cotswold district councillor of misconduct after he demolished part of a listed building in his garden.

Coun Robert Barnett, who represents Stow as an Independent, said he was not warned that additional planning consent was needed to knock down an unsound wall.

He added that the findings of the investigation should now be examined by the council to ensure that similar misunderstandings did not happen in the future.

Cllr Barnett and his wife Caroline were granted planning permission and Listed Building Consent to convert and extend an outbuilding to provide a granny annexe at Sycamore House, Maugersbury.

During the course of the work, it was discovered that a listed gable wall was not sound. Coun Barnett then asked council planning officers if he needed additional Listed Building Consent and planning permission to demolish the wall and was left with the impression that he did not. The wall was then demolished.

However, it was later discovered that new planning permission and Listed Building Consent had been needed for the demolition.

After reviewing the situation the council's monitoring officer, James Ellis, has concluded that Cllr and Mrs Barnett acted in good faith and that Cllr Barnett was not in breach of the council's code of conduct.

Mr Barnett said he hoped the ruling would help inform council planning policy. "The council can see that there are lessons to be learned in the way this was handled - obviously if somebody writes to get advice and doesn't get it there's something going wrong."

He added that the scheme would now be delayed for several months while his retrospective application goes back before the planning committee - a requirement for all applications submitted by councillors.