'It's one rule for shops and one for council'

A takeaway owner who was fined after modernising her shop front, said she felt disheartened when the council built a modern building in the same conservation area.

Lesley Bahreini was in a six-year long dispute with Cumberland Council over the look of her Chattanooga takeaway in Maryport, after she installed PVC fittings.

The authority said she had breached the stricter planning rules in place for conservation areas. She said she feels it is "one rule for one and one for another" after the authority built a modern extension to a historic building nearby.

The council said it had applied "the same scrutiny" to the Carlton as any project and the plans were "carefully considered".

The Labour-led council is leading on a £12m regeneration project in Maryport, including revamping old buildings in Senhouse Street.

It includes refurbishment of the former Carlton Cinema, an 1830s buildings, with a new extension.

The extension, which will become the entrance to a new arts and culture hub, has been criticised on social media by residents who said it looked like "tin shed".

Bahreini said: "We do want what's best for the town, but then it's just so disheartening when they then put that next to the Carlton that has no traditional material for Senhouse Street at all."

Her shop was one of several on the street to be fined by for breaching planning rules around conservation.

She was fined £3,000 and spent several thousands removing the PVC and replacing it with wooden fittings.

The council said every application to make changes to a building was "assessed on its individual merits".

A spokesman said that modern materials and contemporary designs could be used, provided they respected "the character and appearance of the conservation area and shopfront design guidance".

They said the Carlton's extension had been approved by planners in 2022 and the public had been consulted.

"We know design is often subjective, but there is an architectural rationale for the use of a contemporary design and materials [at the Carlton's extension]," the spokesman said.

"The size and scale of the development, and the materials to be used, were carefully considered through this planning process."

Bahreini said her court summons for her breach arrived "out of the blue", after she had tried and failed to get answers from the council about her design.

"It's not just about the money, it's stress with the arguing and fighting all the time," she said.

"You just feel like you're hitting your head off a brick wall, no matter how hard you try and say it doesn't look out of place."

She said the only difference between the shop front she fitted in 2020 and the new one was materials and the appearance was very similar.

"Obviously when it's wood it's more maintenance because with the weather we get here it'll rot," she said.

"You cannot just be throwing money all the time at a business - some months it's hard enough to get by."

She said she tried to complain to Historic England about the design of the Carlton but was told it could not overrule the council.

Historic England said it gave advice to the local authority in 2022 on the proposals and had welcomed plans to bring it back into use.

A spokesperson said: "Approval of the scheme and details of the materials used was determined by the council."

Maryport's conservation area has been on Historic England's at risk register since 2013.

This means that without intervention, historic features, including buildings in Senhouse Street, risk being lost.

The council previously said being on the register had helped it attract the multi-million pound regeneration investment, which included money from Historic England.

The work has been praised by resident and business owners, happy that dilapidated buildings were being brought back into use.

As well as buying and renovating buildings, the council had to ensure building owners were complying with the stricter regulations in place in the conservation area, leading to some enforcement action.

The owners of the Lifeboat Inn, George and Andrea Kemp, were taken to court and and were left with a £27,000 bill for fines and costs for erecting a canopy using unauthorised materials, which they had to remove.

Bahreini said support from people such as the Kemps and her customers kept her going.

"When I went to court, I was shocked and absolutely disheartened.

"If it wasn't for the support, I'd have had the shop front boarded up and left, because you just don't need that hassle."

She said people in the town had also offered her money to help with costs.

Maryport Business Group helped her negotiate with the council on a final design for the shop front.

She said: "I was being stopped in the street to say your shop front looks better than what it did before, it's probably one of the nicest on the streets."

The council said problems "could have been avoided if property owners had engaged with the planning team".

A spokesman said: "We do not take legal action lightly and ask that building owners work with us so that we can make Maryport a place everyone wants to live, work and visit."

They added the regeneration project had seen several positive developments for the town, including the replacement of an old play area by the harbour, a new cafe and skate park on the promenade, among others.

The extension to the Carlton was built to replaced a now-demolished "derelict" building.

"It had lay derelict for many years and had been the subject of many public complaints before the council purchased it," a council spokesman said.

The building will become a centre for the arts, music and theatre, with a 280-seater auditorium.

The council said: "We are reaching the final stages of the Carlton's transformation ahead of opening later this year."

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