A London-based company and its two directors have been ordered to pay £8,386.98 after allowing a historic Tunstall building to fall into disrepair.
Nour House Ltd owned 179 High Street, a 19th-century three-storey brick building within Tunstall's Tower Square Conservation Area. Planning enforcement officers found the property in poor condition following a period of neglect.
The city council served an enforcement notice requiring the company to repair and maintain the building. Despite repeated attempts to engage with the owners, the required works were not carried out.
Nour House Ltd and its two directors pleaded guilty to breaching the enforcement notice. They have been ordered to pay fines, costs and victim surcharges totalling £8,386.98.
Part of broader heritage enforcement drive
This prosecution is the latest case in a heritage enforcement campaign that has now taken action on more than 100 buildings across Stoke-on-Trent. The city council is also restoring 24 buildings through its Centenary Restoration Fund.
Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, Cabinet Member for Growth, Regeneration and Transport, said the council declared a heritage emergency in the city because too many important buildings had been left to decline for too long. He stated that the council will continue to pursue owners who ignore enforcement notices, describing the Tunstall building as sitting at the heart of the town, yards from the Town Hall and Clock Tower.
