A HAMBROOK man has been ordered to pay costs of nearly £3,500 after pleading guilty to carrying out unauthorised works on a listed building.

Mazhar Iqbal of Bristol Road, was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay a further £1,339.59 in legal costs after installing an extension at his grade II listed home.

Other work he carried out without listed building consent included new floor finishes on the ground floor and first floor, a new balustrade erected above the front porch, new doors and windows and new motifs on the ceilings and walls.

The council said it had made repeated requested to Mr Iqbal to seek consent before undertaking any works.

A spokesman said: “Our planning enforcement team and conservation officer have been involved with the property for a number of years and have made repeated requests that Mr Iqbal seeks consent before any works are undertaken.

“It recently came to light that the above works had been carried out by Mr Iqbal without the benefit of listed building consent and officers assessed that the works were detrimental to the architectural and historic interest of the building.

“Officers concluded that the works undertaken would not have been granted listed building consent if it had been applied for. Furthermore, the unauthorised works undertaken were considered to be sufficiently serious that they warranted pursuing prosecution proceedings against Mr Iqbal.”

The case was heard at North Avon Magistrates’ Court on July 31.

Cllr Brian Allinson, chairman of the council’s planning, transportation and strategic environment committee, said: “Planning regulations and enforcement notices are there to help protect the local environment. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence and any breaches are taken very seriously.

“Our planning enforcement team will take appropriate action when a breach to the planning rules occur such as building, changing or demolishing structures without permission or using sites for unauthorised purposes.”

South Gloucestershire Council was awarded full costs for the prosecution and Mr Iqbal was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120.

The council has issued a listed building enforcement notice ordering various actions are undertaken by July 24, 2016 to address the harm caused by the unauthorised works.