A fuming builder has put a giant stone gargoyle of a council leader on his roof as a bitter planning row turns ugly.<br /><br />Michael Thomas, 71, was furious when his plan to convert an old pizza takeaway into a three-storey, seven bedroom, house in multiple occupation (HMO), was rejected.<br /><br />Trowbridge Town Council leader Stewart Palmen objected to the project and put an enforcement notice in place to halt the building project.<br /><br />Mr Thomas has now taken his revenge by erecting a stone gargoyle of Cllr Palmen on his roof.<br /><br />The effigy - sporting half-moon spectacles and sticking his tongue out - now adorns the side of the disputed property in the Wiltshire town.<br /><br />Cllr Palmen, 61, says he was "flattered" by the gargoyle which appeared on the building last week.<br /><br />He said: “It's just been quite amusing. He just started constructing [the HMO] without any planning permission in 2020. <br /><br />“I reported him to enforcement and in the end, he applied, and it was refused along with his appeals. <br /><br />“He's taken it quite personally and believes the council have dobbed him in. <br /><br />“He seems to have vendetta against myself – but I quite like gargoyle and would love for it to stay. <br /><br />“I don’t have an issue with it but there is a serious side to it, there’s a court date on the fact he hasn’t returned the building to what it was.” <br /><br />Mr Thomas found himself at the centre of legal action from Wiltshire Council after he continued building work on the Newtown property despite an enforcement notice. <br /><br />After being issued a temporary stop notice on the project, Mr Thomas vowed to complete the conversion. <br /><br />Following objections from Cllr Palmen and local residents, the stop notice was superseded by an enforcement notice in September 2020. <br /><br />He then applied for planning permission which was refused by Wiltshire Council in June 2022. <br /><br />The council refused the project saying it "detracts from the character and appearance of the area".<br /><br />In May this year, an inspector upheld the council's decision after Mr Thomas launched yet another appeal.<br /><br />In retaliation, Mr Thomas launched a protest against the council by attaching a banner to the scaffolding around the property. <br /><br />The banner read: “Wiltshire council invests time and energy in green field developments and long developers outside and around Trowbridge at a profit while actively hindering small building developers trying to fill a need for accommodation for those who do not qualify for the more expensive out of town accommodation.” <br /><br />The building itself is not listed, but is located in a conservation area. <br /><br />In June Mr Thomas said he was even willing to go to prison over the dispute. He fumed: “They don’t follow the rules, they make them up as they go along. <br /><br />"If council officers are not following the rules, why should I? <br /><br />“I am going to carry on building against their order and allow them to take me to court. <br /><br />“I am not afraid of going to jail, I have been jailed twice before and I’m told that these days they have toilets and televisions so I don’t think that it will be a hardship.” <br /><br />Mr Thomas has been ordered to attend Swindon Magistrates' Court on October 27 to face a charge of failing to comply with the enforcement notice.
