Shop ordered to remove illegal floor

A corner shop will have to pull down the extra floor it had been building without permission following a planning inspector decision.

Owners of the One Stop shop near Ascot Station at the corner of A330 Brockenhurst Road and Oliver Road have been issued an enforcement notice by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

They have two months to remove the existing metal framework and the installation of an "extended flat roof", raised decking, and associated structures, which were built without planning permission.

The notice also demanded that scaffolding and railings should be taken down and that the site should be reinstated to its previous condition.

The council initially ordered the removal in December however works have been on hold since then as the owners lodged an appeal, claiming they needed more time.

In a decision wrote on 19 May, planning inspector Ken McEntee rejected their pleas, deciding there was no good reason to extend the compliance period.

He found that the timetable allowed was "reasonable and proportionate" given the nature of the breach and the length of time the unauthorised development had already been in place.

The inspector said that the shop-owner could still apply to the council to extend the two-month compliance period if they had genuine practical difficulties whilst they were doing it.

Jack Rankin, MP for Windsor, said: "I have consistently raised residents' concerns about the unauthorised works and the significant impact this development has had on the local community. I also urged the Council to take every possible enforcement action to address the breaches and restore the site."

He added: "Local residents deserve to see swift and robust action to bring this long-running issue to a conclusion."