Well, that has been an educational and stressful 2 weeks!
When I bought the site I knew that it came with a planning enforcement order that expired yesterday, I also knew that being listed things would not be straightforward, what I didn’t plan on was just how nasty neighbours can be.
Shortly after buying the pub I sent an email to the council to ask if we could be grated a months extension on the enforcement notice, the council came back a few days later and said no. Part of the site had been used as an illegal caravan site, brothel, drug dealing etc, and they wanted it gone. Not great, but fair enough. However, in order to clear the area, I need to arrange for the grass to be cut first that was at least 4 foot high so as I could see what was there, normally you could sell it as hay, but given the history, no one wanted it for that, and bushes needed to be pulled out etc so as you could get to the caravans etc. On a 2.5 acre site that is a lot of waste!
In the meantime, I thought I would clear the rubbish, rotten wood, rubble etc from and around the building whilst making sure to keep well away from the listed part so as to not harm/effect that area till it was inspected etc. That all goes fine for a couple of days and then I get an email from a conservation officer saying she had had a report of illegal destruction of a listed building. I replied giving her my number and saying I was staying well clear of that area, and an hour later she is on-site doing an emergency visit. Turns out I was wrong if one part of a building is listed then all the building is listed, not a great start with the conservation department and I was told to stop all work immediately.
So that evening I sent her an email with pictures explaining everything I had done, why, but acknowledging that I was in the wrong and how do we fix it. I am waiting to hear what the formal outcome will be, but she has softened in attituded and become very helpful as I can now said her a picture of what I want to do and get her clearance or not before I do it. I can accept this reporting to the council by my neighbours as it is a listed building.
By the time of the visit the area with the enforcement order on it had been cleared with the grass cuttings, bushes etc and put into large piles etc. The only sensible way for dealing with the waste was to burn it along with any naked wood etc that would come from clearing the site. However, before I started the fire, I applied for a licence to burn and checked with planning enforcement if they had an issue with it (they didn’t).
A few days later the licence is granted so I start a fire, a few hours later the fire brigade turns up and says they have had a report of an illegal fire, in which non-allowable things were being burnt such as asbestos, tyres etc. They spent 2 hours on-site checking everything was legal and went away happy and I was allowed to keep burning. Fair play to them as they gave me the number of there control office and said just give us a call when you burn. Just as well I rang them at the start and finish of every burn as they informed me over the phone that reports of illegal burning had kept coming in!
Now you might be thinking that the neighbours would be hacked off by the burning, but the fires were kept well away from any houses so as to not smoke them out, and equally, they are keen to have the site cleared as they have been looking at it for years, they were spoken to about it, and whilst no one likes the mess that clearing brings, they accept the price of doing it.
Then roll on yesterday and the next thing I know the boys in blue turn up, reports of destroying a bats nest! Like I would even think of doing that having already had two official visits! Officer was brilliant, walked around the site and said it's clearly a case of someone has it in for you. Nothing illegal going on here.
Still, enforcement order met, friendly terms with the police established which as I’m more than expected more visits from "illegal" activity (the officer was) is good, conservation officer communication established and friendly terms with the fire brigade. An exhausting but hopefully long term beneficial relationship established.
Bad two weeks with some people in the area though as some person(s) doesn’t like me being there, as a result of it all my attitude has changed from yes your kids can still play on the land which I told the neighbours at the start to …
The one upside of it being a listed building is that its what historical Britain think that goes, not the neighbours, the downside is that who wants to be a war with there neighbours.