Developer's jail warning over listed building

Rajiv Laxman, sole director of Abrus Ltd, was ordered by a High Court judge last Friday that he must commence work to rebuild the Grade II Listed former caretaker's cottage at Brandlehow School no later than March 1, 2009.

The rebuilding of the cottage, and other works to comply with a planning permission for the construction of a new property alongside the cottage, which would contain four dwellings, must all be completed by November 30, 2009.

If Mr Laxman does not meet these two deadlines, he could be found guilty of contempt and would risk a jail sentence, fines and the seizure of his company's assets.

The deadlines were contained in an injunction obtained by the council in response to Mr Laxman's continued failure to comply with planning laws.

Mr Laxman asked the council for permission to demolish the cottage in 2002 but was refused. He took the case to appeal but a Government planning inspector backed the council's decision to say no.

However in January 2007 he demolished it. Planning officers who had been tipped off about the work immediately rushed to the site and ordered the demolition to cease. Mr Laxman was contacted and warned that unauthorised demolition was a criminal offence and that the council would require the building to be restored.

Mr Laxman has already been prosecuted twice over the affair. He was taken to court and convicted of unlawfully demolishing a listed building without consent. He was also subsequently convicted of failing to comply with an enforcement notice req uiring him to rebuild the cottage.

Before last Friday's hearing, Mr Laxman had already been ordered to pay £27,000 in fines and legal costs. That amount has now reached £36,000 and he now faces a jail sentence and further financial penalties if he ignores the injunction.

Mr Laxman must also fully comply with an interim injunction obtained in September requiring him to properly weatherproof the remains of the listed building to protect it from the elements. Planning officers are currently considering whether this court order has been properly complied with. If it has not, Mr Laxman could be required to attend the High Court for a contempt hearing.

The council's planning spokesman Cllr Leslie McDonnell said: "Mr Laxman is drinking in the last chance saloon when it comes to getting on with the task of rebuilding this important listed building.

"Having ignored and flouted earlier legal proceedings, he has now been told by a High Court judge that this work must be completed. He must restore the listed cottage to its original appearance and must also get on with the planning permission he does have for the remainder of the site. This will tidy up what has become a complete eyesore for neighbours and other people living in this part of Putney.

"If he fails to comply with this injunction now it is very difficult to see the judge taking a sympathetic view of his explanation. My advice to Mr Laxman is to get on with the job otherwise he will face the possibility of losing significant sums of money and quite possibly his liberty."

The cottage was formerly part of Brandlehow School until it was declared surplus to the school's needs in 2001. Brandlehow was built in 1952 and is one of only three schools in London to have been designed by controversial architect Erno Goldfinger - best known for his iconic Trellick Tower in Paddington.

It was constructed using innovative building methods for the time, using a pre-cast reinforced concrete frame and was given listed building status in 1993. Since demolishing the cottage in January 2007, no further work has been carried out and the site is now totally overgrown with vegetation. It has become a major eyesore for local residents.

 

December 19, 2008