A MAN has told a council to drop all enforcement action against windows in Grade-II listed homes after it emerged it was unaware an 18th Century house had 22 illegal windows.

As Fenland District Council prepared to force the owners of two other homes in New Road, Chatteris, to replace their windows, Peter Taylor told a planning committee on Wednesday that enforcement proceedings were inconsistent as numerous planning law breaches had been missed in the area.

Among them was the 22 plastic windows installed in Kent House, Chatteris, a 18th century, former workhouse.

Mr Taylor lost a High Court battle earlier this year to avoid replacing the windows in his Grade-II listed home next door to the houses in New Road.

He said: “It should hold off on all its enforcements until it gets its act together – it did not have a clue about Kent House.

“It sees me as easy prey. I’ve been singled out for the last three years when it’s missing one of the oldest buildings in Chatteris.”

Mr Taylor is determined to stop his neighbours falling victim to the same regulations he did.

“It would have cost me near enough �4,000 to replace the windows,” he said.

“The enforcement notice said my windows should be the same as my neighbours but they have since changed. It’s completely invalid. It’s a mess.

“I’m speaking on behalf of my neighbours because the council needs to get its own house in order.”

If the council serves a failure to comply notice, Mr Taylor faces a �20,000 fine.

A council spokesman said: “The owners of Kent House haven’t had permission to install these windows and we are already talking to them about the various options open to them to remedy things.

“We’ve advised them the best thing for them would be to agree a phased replacement of the windows if they wish to avoid formal enforcement proceedings.”