Sunderland company hit with record fine after failing to repair church

Purvis Construction NE Ltd – which owns grade two listed St Aidan’s Church at Blackhill near Consett – has been ordered to pay £124,800, after being taken to court a second time by Durham County Council in relation to the condition of the now-closed property.

Magistrates heard the company has failed to start or complete any work to address the state of disrepair the church was found to be in, leading to an enforcement notice being served in November 2023.

This week, the court chose to impose a financial penalty of £500 for each day that has passed since the first prosecution – the maximum amount allowed.

Cllr Lyndsey Fox, the council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “St Aidan’s occupies a prime place in Blackhill and its listed status and the fact it is within the local conservation area add to its importance locally.

“Regrettably over time it has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair and that has upset a lot of people living in the area who regard the old church as an important part of their heritage.

“We share their concerns and that is why we served an enforcement notice compelling the owner to carry out work.

“More than a year and a half later and despite the company being ordered to pay £10,000 following our first prosecution, no work has been started or completed.

“We are really pleased that the court has taken this latest prosecution so seriously and has meted out what amounts to our highest ever financial penalty.

“We hope that penalty might serve as food for thought for any property owners who might not look after important heritage assets as well as they could.”

It was last December that Purvis, based at Silksworth Road in Sunderland, was first prosecuted by the council.

The church had fallen into such a state of disrepair that it was no longer wind or watertight, and was having a negative impact on the appearance of the surrounding area.

Prior to that, in November 2023, the council served a Section 215 maintenance notice which required the company to carry out repairs to the building’s roof, including replacing or fixing broken and missing slates, lead flashings and ridge tiles.

It also required that gutters, downpipes, troughs and pipe works be cleared and repaired; missing or defective window security screenings be replaced; and overgrown trees or shrubs on the boundary of the property be cut back.

However, the company failed to respond to the notice within the 16 weeks it was given to act, resulting in it being taken to court by the council and, after failing to turn up, being ordered to pay £10,000.

Nevertheless, despite being made aware of the conviction, the company has to date failed to start or finish any of the works.

This failure amounts to a separate offence which the council brought before Peterlee magistrates.

The company again failed to attend and has now been hit with financial penalties totalling £134,800 in relation to the church.