Developer's building to be demolished by council

A council will demolish an unsafe six-storey block of flats after its developer failed to tear it down following planning breaches.

Marcus Fielding was previously found guilty of failing to prevent people from being put in danger by the building in Job's Lane, Kettering, Northamptonshire.

North Northamptonshire Council took High Court action against Fielding, as well as Michigan Construction, Fielding's company, to demolish the building.

When the work was not carried out by April 2024, a High Court ruling allowed the council "to seek to demolish the building in default", and a demolition notice has been submitted, the council confirmed.

At Northampton Magistrates' Court in June, Fielding, 54, of Job's Yard, and his company were found guilty of failing to take steps to prevent danger to the public and contravening a requirement to ensure scaffolding was safe.

He also breached orders barring him from carrying out work on the building.

He was released on bail and warned he could be given a jail term.

Sentencing is due to take place on 8 January 2027.

The council said it was concerned about the standard of building work and said planning permission had not been granted for six storeys.

It took High Court action, and in late 2023, a judge ruled that Fielding, as well as Michigan Construction, were in breach of planning conditions and building regulations and said the block should be demolished.

The council said that when he did not act on this, it made another application so it could secure the site and demolish the building.

It confirmed the site had been secured, surveyed, and had all its internal fixtures and fittings removed.

It said a demolition notice had been submitted to its building control team, and it was working with utility companies to disconnect the gas and electricity.

Reform UK councillor Kirk Harrison, its executive member for regulatory services, said: "This is an extremely complex case, given the location and size of the building, and we are working closely with our contractor to ensure that the work to demolish the building is completed as quickly as possible.

"Once the building is demolished, we will then be able to reopen the road."

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