Giant stone gargoyle of council leader to stay despite jail threat

by · Mail Online

A builder says he is 'happy to go to jail' for keeping a giant stone gargoyle of a deputy mayor on his property.

Michael Thomas, 73, had his plans to convert an old pizza takeaway into a three-storey, seven bedroom HMO rejected, leaving him furious.

Deputy Mayor of Trowbridge Town Council Stewart Palmen objected to the project and put an enforcement notice in place to halt the building project.

 Mr Thomas took his revenge last year by erecting a stone gargoyle of Cllr Palmen on his Wiltshire roof.

The effigy, with half-moon spectacles and tongue out, is still up on the disputed property in Wiltshire.

And Mr Thomas says he is not removing it, even as a trial date looms over the planning row.

He says he would happily go to jail over it.

Michael Thomas, 71, erected the gargoyles after his efforts to redevelop a building in Trowbridge were rejected by the local council
Builder Michael Thomas with his one-man protest banner outside his property in Wiltshire
Cllr Palmen mimicked the pose of the gargoyle, seen behind, in Trowbridge

Mr Thomas said: 'The gargoyle was intending to highlight the property and what the fight was all about.

Read More

Furious builder puts giant stone gargoyle sculpt of a council leader on his roof

'They are wrong and I am happy to go to jail if I have to because as far as I am concerned if we people don't stop and say 'you are wrong' they will keep doing it.

'The support I have got is amazing - I couldn't believe so many people agreed with me.'

Mr Thomas also attached a banner to the scaffolding around the property as another way of protesting.

The banner read: 'Wiltshire council invests time and energy in green field developments and long developers outside and around Trowbridge at a profit while actively hindering small building developers trying to fill a need for accommodation for those who do not qualify for the more expensive out of town accommodation.'

Cllr Stewart Palmen said that he has now got used to seeing the gargoyle of himself outside the house.

He said at the time: 'I am quite happy with it being there - I would like it to stay. There is no skin off my nose.

'For any councillor any publicity is good publicity.

'But it is very frustrating that years and years after he started building something without planning permission that so far there has been no consequence for him.'

Mr Thomas also attached a banner to the scaffolding around the property as another way of protesting 
The gargoyle, that pokes out of the corner of the building that Mr Thomas had been working on, is designed to resemble Trowbridge Council leader Stewart Palmen
Mr Thomas has faced repeated problems with trying to redevelop the old pizza takeaway
Cllr Palmen previously described himself as 'flattered'  at the gargoyle and said that he found it 'amusing'

 Mr Thomas found himself at the centre of legal action from Wiltshire Council after he continued building work on the Newtown property despite an enforcement notice in 2020.

After being issued a temporary stop notice on the project, Mr Thomas vowed to complete the conversion.

Following objections from Cllr Palmen and local residents, the stop notice was superseded by an enforcement notice in September 2020.

He then applied for planning permission which was refused by Wiltshire Council in June 2022.

Mr Thomas appealed against this decision - which was dismissed in May 2023.

He has reportedly continued to work on the building during this time and the council has commenced prosecution proceedings for the failure to comply with the Enforcement Notice.

Mr Thomas has pleaded not guilty to this and the matter has been set down for a trial starting on November 19 - scheduled for three days.

The building itself is not listed, but is located in a conservation area.