Owners of pizza parlour eyesore in Sleaford ordered to tidy it up by council

North Kesteven District Council has issued a notice requiring work to be done to the former Pizza Hot takeaway shop at 31 Southgate in Sleaford.

The authority served a section 215 notice which requires the front of the building to be tidied up, including the removal of the old ‘Pizza Hot’ sign and strip lighting, and repairs to the shop front to improve its appearance.

NKDC has taken the action after the building has been reported by people living in the town as a blight on the high street. It has repeatedly been name ‘Mess of the Year’ by Sleaford and District Civic Trust.

An NKDC spokesman said the authority is working hard to improve Sleaford’s town centre to make it a more attractive place for visitors and shoppers.

As the building is Grade II listed, the council speeded up the process of improvement works by obtaining the necessary Listed Building Consent for the works to be carried out before the notice was issued. Consent was granted on Thursday, April 27.

If the owners do not appeal the notice, the owners are required to do the work by July 28.

The listed building consent permits the owners to remove and make good a number of “inappropriate” modern additions such as redundant signage, wiring, security cameras and lighting which are not in keeping with the character or appearance of the building. It would also require the repainting of the shop frontage in white to halt the deterioration and board up the windows and door, painting them in a more historically appropriate heritage stone green.