Maidenhead & Windsor

Owners of Maidenhead town centre eyesore Cressett Towers face court action if they don't clean up their property inside three months.

The Maidenhead Royal Borough has issued an enforcement notice under Section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 requiring the owners to carry out a detailed list of work on their Maidenhead High Street building. The move follows recent government clarification and guidance on the use of these powers.

The notice takes effect from June 12 and if the work is not carried out within three months of that date Maidenhead council has the option of taking the owners to court (where they could face a substantial fine if found guilty) or organising for the necessary work to be done, with all the costs recovered through an action against the owners in the county court.

Maidenhead Cllr Vicky Howes, lead member for Maidenhead town centre, said the council's patience was exhausted: "We have continually put pressure on the owners and given them every opportunity to bring Cressett Towers up to scratch but without success. The enforcement notice is a clear signal that they must take responsibility for this shambles of a building which has been a blot on the landscape in Maidenhead town centre for far too long."

The enforcement notice requires the owners to carry out external repairs, cleaning and repainting, replace broken glass and remove all hoarding from the front of the building.

Maidenhead Cllr Howes said: "Ideally we want to see Cressett Towers brought back into use to add to the vitality of the town centre but in the meantime our aim is to get the exterior of the building put in order so that it is no longer a notorious local eyesore."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead