THOUSANDS of pounds that have been sunk into renovating an “eyesore” of a pub could have been wasted, after the council have issued 28-day notice to the owner to destroy its new wall.

Pete Brock, 53, the new owner of the Carpenters Arms in Sherston, took on the derelict pub with an eye to provide the village with an affordable local for families.

He installed a wall of breathable insulation on the outside of the front of the building, extending its thickness by six inches.

The pub is the final building on the perimeter of a conservation area however, meaning that even minor changes made to it have to be cleared by Wiltshire Council, something Pete had not provisioned for.

Two days after the insulation had been erected a council worker started taking photos of the building and soon after Pete was issued with a 28-day notice to remove it.

Pete says he is applying for retrospective planning permission and will appeal any decision to turn it down, claiming that the insulation halves the building’s carbon footprint and the work has benefited the village.

“This system is a breathable product, it lets the stone behind it breath” Pete explained.

“The government were recommending this system and giving grants out for it until recently. It has been done on solid wall properties as it was the only way people could insulated them.”

Sherston residents have spoken out in support of the work that they say has fixed an untidy building in the area.

Candi Williams Tarling said: “I live in the village and want it to thrive. The sorry state the Carpenters Arms was in made for an eyesore. It's much better.”

Having spent tens of thousands of pounds in the redevelopment Pete hoped he would be able to open its doors in time for summer, but says if he has to redo the wall, it could mean delaying the opening too long.

“Thousands of pounds will be lost if it has to come off,” he said.

“It will set me back a few months. If this happens I’ll miss the summer and I really need to start pulling some money back in.

“I’ve kept the character of the place,” he continued. “When you install that system what you normally do is straightened the walls up, but I’ve kept it with the walls leaning back and forward.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said of the situation: “The cladding of a building in a conservation area requires planning permission particularly where it alters the appearance of the building.

“No permission has been applied for in this case, however the owner can still apply retrospectively and any such application will be considered on its planning merits.”

A petition has been started online to support Pete’s work which now has more than 400 signatures. It can be viewed at change.org/p/mark-andrews-keep-the-carpenters-arms-as-it-is