A company has been ordered to pay more than £3,100 after it failed to undertake work to a listed former pub to fix a range of defects and tidy up the site following an investigation by Hillingdon Council’s planning enforcement team.
Sarins Group Ltd, which owns the Red Lion pub in High Street, Harlington admitted one charge of not complying with a notice requiring remedial work to be undertaken to improve the building and untidy condition of the land.
The company was fined £1,666, ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £866 and a victim surcharge of £666 at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 21 April.
The notice required the company to remove all overgrown foliage from the land, which sits within the Harlington Village Conservation Area, foliage on the building, and replace all loose or missing tiles on the roof with tiles that matched the existing roof.
It was also required to paint external boards covering the windows and remove all debris, waste, building materials, plant equipment, loose shrubbery and vegetation, and machinery resulting from any remedial works from the property.
The matter first came to the council’s attention following a complaint in June 2023 about untidy land and the building being in disrepair, including broken windows and roof tiles falling from the structure.
Despite attempts by officers from the council’s planning enforcement team to engage with the company and warning letters being sent requiring it to act, no meaningful improvements were made, and a Section 215 notice was issued in March 2024.
An unannounced compliance inspection on 30 April 2025 confirmed that none of the works required had been completed. A further visit on 8 July 2025 revealed that the condition of the site had deteriorated further, with additional missing roof tiles, continued overgrowth on the land and building, and incomplete painting of the external boarding.
During the investigation, officers were told that the property had been purchased in 2023 in its current condition and the owners did not intend to undertake any works until planning consent had been obtained. The court heard that building works were now underway with the hope of opening the Red Lion as a pub again next year.
Daniel Kennedy, Hillingdon Council’s Corporate Director of Residents Services, said: “My thanks to our planning enforcement and legal teams for securing this positive result.
“Purchasing and ownership of listed buildings brings with it significant responsibilities and legal obligations to ensure they are properly preserved. In this case, it’s clear that the owner fell short of meeting those responsibilities and demonstrates that we won’t hesitate to take action.”
To find out more about reporting a planning breach, visit the council’s website.
