Corsham resident ordered to remove rendered cladding from home after successful Wiltshire Council planning enforcement

A Corsham resident has six months to remove rendered cladding from the exterior walls of their house following successful planning enforcement work by Wiltshire Council officers.

The owner of the property on Pickwick Road was issued with an enforcement notice by Wiltshire Council in February 2023, after they added rendered cladding to all four exterior walls of their property without planning permission. The unauthorised development was contrary to policies in the Wiltshire Core Strategy, the Corsham Neighbourhood Plan, and the National Planning Policy Framework.

The owner applied to the council for retrospective planning permission, which was refused because the cladding was deemed to be highly unsympathetic and would harm the Corsham Conservation Area. They then chose to appeal both the planning application refusal and the council's enforcement notice, but on 7 February, the Planning Inspectorate dismissed both appeals and ruled that the property should be restored to its former condition within six months.

Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Development Management and Strategic Planning, said: "This sends a clear message to anyone considering making changes to their property without planning permission.

"As we have clearly set out in our Business Plan, we will use all powers available to us, including enforcement action and prosecution if necessary to prevent planning breaches in Wiltshire.

"In this case, the homeowner made significant changes to the outside of their property, which is in a Conservation Area, without planning permission, and they were served an enforcement notice. Their retrospective application for planning permission was rejected, and then their subsequent appeals were dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate.

"This is a great result that illustrates the tenacity of our planning enforcement team, and reminds everyone in Wiltshire that we will use all of our powers and take enforcement action against breaches of planning regulations in the county."