Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Owner fined for failing to maintain historic Boston property

The owner of a listed building has been prosecuted by Boston Borough Council after failing to carry out essential maintenance on the historic property, following warnings and a legal notice.

The English Heritage listed property, located at 65A-67 Wide Bargate in Boston, had fallen into a state of disrepair that caused concerns for its long-term safety and turned it into an eyesore in the local area.

Contact was made by the council to the building’s owner in December 2023, asking for necessary improvements to be made to safeguard the building and enhance its appearance.

No works were undertaken, and in June 2024 the council issued a legal notice under section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act, specifying the work that was considered necessary and setting a timescale for it to be completed by October of that year.

Despite this formal notice, no works were undertaken, and the owner failed to engage further with the council, leading to the need for legal action to be taken.

The case was heard at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 25 March, where the owner was found guilty in her absence and imposed a fine of £660, along with a victim surcharge of £264 and an award of £350 in costs to the council, making a total amount payable of £1,274.

The owner of the property is also still required to carry out the necessary renovations to the property, with the council able to take further legal action if this does not occur.

A Boston Borough Council spokesperson said: “Boston’s historic buildings form a key part of the town’s character, and we are committed to doing everything within our power to ensure they are maintained and managed in a way that preserves them and prevents them from becoming a blight on the community.

“Our planning enforcement team has worked over a prolonged period to engage with this property owner to make sure the required works were carried out, but unfortunately were left with no choice but to pursue legal proceedings to see action taken.

“We are pleased to see the court find in the council’s favour, and hope that these important renovations will now get underway to bring this listed property back to the state it should be.”

 

Image: Boston, Lincolnshire – credit: Stock.adobe.com/Tony

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our news site - please take a moment to read this important message:

As you know, our aim is to bring you, the reader, an editorially led news site and magazine but journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having a major impact on our industry as a whole, the advertising revenues we normally receive, which helps us cover the cost of our journalists and this website, have been drastically affected.

As such we need your help. If you can support our news sites/magazines with either a small donation of even £1, or a subscription to our magazine, which costs just £27.55 per year, (inc p&P and mailed direct to your door) your generosity will help us weather the storm and continue in our quest to deliver quality journalism.

As a subscriber, you will have unlimited access to our web site and magazine. You'll also be offered VIP invitations to our events, preferential rates to all our awards and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Just click here to subscribe and in the meantime may I wish you the very best.

Advertisment












Latest posts

Folk rock legends Lindisfarne play Scunthorpe in June

Geordie folk rock legends Lindisfarne play Scunthorpe’s Plowright Theatre this June. The ever-popular band fronted by co-founder Rod Clements are back touring an extensive repertoire...

A behind the scenes glimpse ahead of Classic Ibiza’s return to Burghley House

As Classic Ibiza’s 10th birthday celebrations at Burghley House on Saturday 26 July draw ever closer, Stephen Hussey’s 32-piece Urban Soul Orchestra and London...

Norwegian students say goodbye after year in Lincoln

It’s time for a fond farewell as 16 A Level students from Sørumsand in Norway return home. Personal Tutor and International Academic Co-Ordinator, Corinne Hills,...

Wish granted with 007-themed day at Tallington Lodge Care Home

Residents at Tallington Lodge Care Home, situated in the village of Tallington, near Stamford, Lincolnshire, enjoyed celebrations for the Oscars, which included a special...

Creative sector brings £5.35m boost to North East Lincolnshire

Creative and heritage industries in North East Lincolnshire have grown significantly over the past year, generating over £5.3 million in external investment and delivering...

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close