A Preston couple have been fined for installing the wrong type of windows in a conservation area.
AdvertisementMohammed Rawat and Aisha Rawat, of 17 Highgate Avenue, Fulwood, were convicted at Preston magistrates court for breaching an enforcement notice.
Preston City Council issued the notice calling for the uPVC windows and sills to be removed from the front elevation of the house.
The Rawats did not do so, and the council took the pair to court. They were convicted and sentenced to a conditional discharge of 12 months each.
The council was awarded costs of £100.
A statement from the city council said: “Prosecutions relating to contravention of enforcement and allied notices help to impress upon both the public and individual owners that the requirements of the notices must be satisfied.
“The aim in such cases is to secure compliance with the enforcement notice rather than to punish and this is seen as more important. It is also necessary in this context to realise that what may seem to be a minor contravention may have a more important context when considered against the planning merits and issues involved. Similar principles also apply in respect of cases which involve the control of advertisements.”
A conservation area limits what development can take place, and many changes to a home need to have planning permission applied for.
The case was heard at Preston magistrates court on 21 August 2013.