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'Gargoyle' of council leader appears on Wiltshire pizza shop

BBC A sculpture of a man with a beard and glasses, on the edge of a roofBBC
The sculpture, which is technically a grotesque, on the side of the building

A builder has put up a gargoyle-like sculpture of a council leader in the latest development of a planning row.

Wiltshire Council first issued Michael Thomas with an enforcement notice telling him to stop converting an old pizza shop in Trowbridge in 2020.

And now Mr Thomas has put a statue of Trowbridge Town Council leader Stewart Palmen on his roof.

Mr Palmen, 61, said: "I find the gargoyle very amusing, I'm using it as my Facebook profile picture."

Speaking to Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2, Mr Thomas, 71, said the sculpture was "meant to be humorous", rather than nasty.

A man in a leather top hat
Stewart Palmen said it was disappointing the sculpture was not sporting a hat which he usually wears

After the enforcement notice was first issued, planning permission was sought by Mr Thomas.

However, this was refused in June 2022 by Wiltshire Council, which said the plan would "detract from the character and appearance of the area".

This decision was upheld after an appeal in May this year, which led to Mr Thomas putting up a banner criticising the council on scaffolding around the property.

A building with scaffolding work
The enforcement notice was first issued in 2020

Mr Palmen said: "He's clearly put a lot of work into the gargoyle, I think it's a good likeness of how I looked three years ago when I had a big bushy beard.

"I am a bit disturbed though because I usually wear a fedora hat and that is missing.

"I can see it was designed to wind me up but it's had the opposite effect."

Mr Thomas said he had asked an artist friend to carve the artwork, which is technically a grotesque, because he believed Mr Palmen had asked people to object to the plans.

A man with white hair in a hi-vis jacket
Michael Thomas asked a friend to sculpt the councillor out of stone

But Mr Palmen said he had merely been asking people to comment.

He said: "I've never had any direct communications with him myself, I think he sees me as a channel for the council though.

"I would say Wiltshire Council do support these kind of applications when they follow the correct procedures."

Speaking on behalf of the council, Nick Botterill, cabinet member for strategic planning, added: "As there is an ongoing enforcement case against Mr Thomas, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage."

Mr Thomas is due to appear at Swindon Magistrates' Court on 27 October accused of failing to comply with an enforcement notice.

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