A PUB owner in Thornbury may have to fork out hundreds of pounds because of an error made by South Gloucestershire Council's planning department.

Last year Alex Tryfonos, new owner of the Mezze at the Royal George, applied for planning permission for the pub's premises on the Plain, Thornbury.

Mr Tryfonos has spent thousands of pounds in the last 12 months turning the pub into a stylish Mediterranean-style lounge bar and restaurant.

As part of the pub's transformation Mr Tryfonos asked South Gloucestershire Council for permission to move stained glass windows from the front of the building.

In planning consent that was published by South Gloucestershire Council on July 3 last year Mr Tryfonos was told he was allowed to move the windows as long as they stayed somewhere on public display.

However, it was been acknowledged this week by a South Gloucestershire Council planning officer that the notice was wrong.

At a meeting of South Gloucestershire Council's Development Control Committee last Thursday, May 14, Helen O'Connor, a planning officer for the council, admitted there were discrepancies between what the committee had decided and what Mr Tryfonos had been told by the department.

The committee had in fact decided at a previous meeting that the stained glass windows should not be moved and went as far as to include them in the pub's Listed Building Consent, which protects buildings and features of historical interest.

If the council decides to enforce the breach of planning permission Mr Tryfonos could be forced to return the windows to their original place.

"The council haven't contacted me yet concerning this but I have seen evidence that the windows shouldn't be listed anyway because they haven't been there long enough, they are a relatively new feature to the building," he told the Gazette.

"I will have to wait to hear from the council."

A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson agreed there had been an error but that Mr Tryfonos was still in breach of the Listed Building Consent by moving the windows. He said: "The applicant has to satisfy the requirements of the listed building consent and the council’s planning enforcement team is investigating a potential breach in regard to this. The development control west committee has asked that this investigation be carried out as a priority."