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Town hall boss faces legal fight over revamp of £3m former home
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard17.11.08
THE leader of Westminster council is facing legal action over alterations made to his £3million former house.
Colin Barrow is accused of "seriously eroding" the character of the 17th century Darsham House when he renovated it more than two years ago.
Suffolk Coastal District council says unauthorised alterations to the 18-bedroom house, near Yoxford, are not in keeping with the Georgian style.
It has served nine enforcement notices and is considering legal action, even though Mr Barrow sold the property in 2006. He has been ordered to change recessed lighting and light switches, as well as the glaze used on replacement windows, by 2010. Mr Barrow, who has been leader of Westminster since May, said he was in "complete shock" over the allegations and said the timing was "ridiculously late".
A former Suffolk county councillor, he bought the house in 2004 for £2.7million. He said the upgrade of the house had cost "hundreds of thousands of pounds", involving rewiring, plastering and opening some of the attic rooms.
"If I wanted to get a bulldozer and knock down the west wing I wouldn't have bothered with the consent or gone to the trouble of employing all these people. I would have just got on and quietly done it, but that is not what I was doing. If anything improper was done it was certainly done without my knowledge."
Mr Barrow said he obtained listed building consent for the work and appointed architects. He had talks with English Heritage and said the council visited the property.
Mr Barrow sold the house with some of the work unfinished, to Mr and Mrs Colin Francis-Smith in 2006. The property now lies empty.
Following the sale architects employed by Mr and Mrs Francis-Smith wrote to the council to complain about the alterations and the nine enforcement notices were served in March.
Ivan Jowers, chairman of Suffolk Coastal's development control committee, said: "The council is considering what form any legal action will take."
Reader views (5)
amazing man... while he encourages his employees to go and steal the property of street trades in Westminster while they are struggling to feed their families... under the protection of the so called law of the land, ie the city of Westminster act. he goes and spends millions on a property and breaks the law...this man and his cohorts should be imprisoned, not for what they do but for there inhumanity...
- J Cosgrove, london uk
Now a resident of Australia. I was born in Darsham and lived just a few hundred metres from Darsham House. Why do people like Mr Barrow think they can flout the law, the 'real' residents of Darsham would never behave this way. It became very irritating when those new residents who have more money than common sense think they can do as they please.
- Ann Rayner, Yarra Glen Victoria Australia
Did any improvements go on expenses?
- Charlie, London UK
This really doesn't surprise me at all. Colin Barrow is a greedy selfish man!
- Emma, London, UK
It's funny but whenever the phrase Westminster City Council is mentioned you can always rely on corruption. Shirley Porter led the way and her co-conspirators are still at large in the Conservative Party at Westminster and in Boris's team.
- S Lloyd, Acton England
