A charity is fighting Harrow Council after it carried out unauthorised and ‘destructive’ work on a Grade II listed former court.
The Jaspar Foundation, based in Stanmore, planned to turn the former Harrow Magistrates Court, in Rosslyn Crescent, Wealdstone, into a day care centre and flats but after a visit by councillors and council officers last year it was discovered that it had made unauthorised alterations to the interior of the building, leaving some historical features destroyed altogether.
The council planning committee, which threw out The Jaspar Foundation's retrospective planning application in September last year, stated in response to the application: "The proposal is unacceptable by reason of the substantial overall harm to the special interest of the court house caused by the alteration, loss and relocation of historic fixtures and fittings, the loss/undermining of the historic floor plan and the associated loss of court house character."
But on March 28 the authority received an appeal from the charity.
The appeal said: "Ultimately, the Jaspar Centre has been designed to provide a safe-haven for vulnerable members of the community.
"During a period where there is a chronic undersupply of community facilities (including the closure of the Civic Centre library in 2013, which was opposite the current Jaspar Centre), the operation of a new self-funded charitable organisation for the local community should be supported by the council."
The Jasper Foundation is part of the Jaspar Group, a family-based company of property developers who wish to use the centre to run social activities for elderly members of the Asian community.
