A Wiltshire builder who is defying an enforcement notice has now resorted to poking fun at the local councillor who objected to his shop conversion.
Michael Thomas, 71, has installed a carved stone grotesque at one end of the roof at 12 Newtown taking the mickey out of Trowbridge Town Council leader Stewart Palmen.
He is seen peering down from the right-hand side of the former pizza takeaway shop that Mr Thomas is converting into a house of multiple occupancy.
Cllr Palmen seems to be enjoying being immortalised in stone, saying: “I was quite amused and couldn’t wait to share pictures of it. I am quite happy with it.
“I am taking it as a compliment, although I think he meant it to hack me off."
He also posted a message with photographs on local social media saying “Seems a local builder still building without planning permission has put a bust of a handsome gentleman on the end of his project.”
In another post, he added: “Update on 12 Newtown where the builder is still building without planning permission, but building something different from what he initially intended has added an effigy of a handsome man! I wonder who that is meant to be?”
Locals have also commented on the likeness, with Robert Leat saying “He is currently running circles around the local council. Now he’s having a bit of banter. “Hats off to the guy. Great defiant attitude. I like it!”
The Wiltshire Times has approached Mr Thomas for a comment.
Wiltshire Council has pledged to take legal action against Mr Thomas after he carried on working on the property in defiance of an enforcement notice asking him to stop.
A hearing has been scheduled for Swindon Magistrates Court on October 27 where Mr Thomas will face a charge of failing to comply with the requirements of the enforcement notice.
Back in June, Mr Thomas, of Staverton, launched a one-man protest against Wiltshire Council planners saying he is willing to go to prison rather than comply with the enforcement notice.
He fixed a banner to steelwork to scaffolding outside the building after an inspector in May dismissed his planning appeal.
Mr Thomas had appealed the council’s refusal in June 2022 to allow him to convert 12 Newtown into an HMO with up to seven rooms spread over three floors.
Wiltshire Council originally issued a temporary stop notice, following objections from Cllr Palmen and local residents. This was later superseded by the enforcement notice issued in September 2020.
Wiltshire Council planners refused the scheme in June 2022, saying: “the proposed development by virtue of its bulk, mass, scale, elevational design and roofline represents an unacceptable form of development …. that detracts from the character and appearance of the area.”
But Mr Thomas has vowed to carry on completing the conversion despite the enforcement action ordering him to demolish the steelwork he put up on the building, which is not listed but is in a conservation area.
In June, he said: “They don’t follow the rules, they make them up as they go along. If council officers are not following the rules, why should I?
“I am going to carry on building against their order and allow them to take me to court.
“I am not afraid of going to jail, I have been jailed twice before and I’m told that these days they have toilets and televisions so I don’t think that it will be a hardship.”
He now appears to be making alterations to his original design, possibly with the hope of appeasing planners and gaining retrospective permission.
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