Heritage success
Sir: In the article 'Defending one's own castle' (7 April), Gavin Stamp points to a difficult aspect of listed building control, namely, prosecution for unauthorised work and associated enforcement action. As the GLC Historic Buildings Division before us knew, and as we in English Heritage know only too well, this can be difficult for a number of reasons. One reason is the unpredictable attitude of the courts, while another is the problem which can be encountered in assembling suffi- ciently reliable evidence of the situation before the work in question took place.
However, if Dr Stamp has left your readers with the impressions that the Lon-
don Division of English Heritage never becomes involved in such matters, he will have done the cause of conservation in the capital a disservice. A recent success in a London case of this kind concerned a listed building in Dean Street, Soho. There, Georgian panelling was noticed going into a skip. English Heritage joined forces with Westminster City Council in a prosecution and a substantial fine was imposed by the court. Also, the owner was required to reinstate the panelling. Moreover, costs were awarded by the court both to English Heritage and to Westminster City Council.
As with other criminal offences, there will be times when some lucky wrongdoers get away with their illegal actions for one reason or another. But others will not. And it is the message that some risk-takers get caught, which could more usefully come across, rather than Dr Stamp's leng- thy 'not in my back yard' tale.
Philip Whitbourn
English Heritage, Chesham House, 30 Warwick Street, London W1
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