A stop work notice slapped on a prominent Manuka home set to be renovated has been lifted after ACT government inspectors found works under way at the site didn't require approval.
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The notice was slapped on the house at 21 Furneaux Street last Thursday, less than two weeks before a development application for the landmark property was set to be considered.
The move raised the ire of the home's owners, who said none of the building works they had carried out on the corner block near Manuka Village shops required approval and they had been disrupted by a "serial pest" neighbour.
Owner Peter Axiom paid $2.05 million for the property in December and plans to expand the two-storey house and add a pool, double garage with studio and bathroom and a separate single garage once the application is approved.
The existing street facades of the Spanish Mission-style building, known as The Pines, would be retained.
Nearby resident Anne Forrest contacted the government the day before the notice was issued after neighbours noticed some trees, vegetation and a tin shed had been removed from the block.
Ms Forrest said she was informed by the government's land enforcement regulation unit the next day a stop work notice would be put in place after inspectors found work being done without approval.
But Mr Axiom said last week that an inspector had wrongly assumed extension work being carried out, and he was confident the stop work notice would be lifted within days, with no "specific or valid" reason for the notice given to he or his builder.
The notice was lifted on Tuesday after the government found it wasn't necessary anymore, an Access Canberra spokesman said.
"Access Canberra inspectors have determined that the work being undertaken on the building is maintenance and does not require development or building approval," he said.
Ms Forrest was told in an email from a government inspector that the works were found to be minor and included replacing old plumbing and removing old plaster from the ceilings.
The inspector said other matters related to the site were being addressed by WorkSafe ACT.
The distinctive property is one of seven blocks covered by the Blandfordia 5 precinct listing on the ACT Heritage Register and the home has been nominated for an individual heritage listing.
Ms Forrest said the internal building works should not proceed until the nomination had been formally addressed by the Heritage Council.
Advice from Philip Leeson Architects as part of the ACT Heritage Advisory Service said the owner's proposal was "generally consistent" with the Blandfordia 5 requirements.
