Car dealer Reginald Rix has failed in his bid to remove a historic blue plaque from his £3million Cheshire mansion, which commemorates the property's links to Rolls-Royce co-founder Sir Henry Royce. Mr Rix, who founded the Warrington-based Rix Motor Group, bought the listed former home of the motoring pioneer in Knutsford last year, despite his own evident affinity for the luxury car brand, including driving a Bentley and owning a vintage Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Cheshire East Council rejected the application, siding with Knutsford Town Council, which argued the plaque was a heritage landmark of national significance that should be protected.

The plaque, installed at Brae Cottage in 2016 after listed building consent was granted, marks the house where Sir Henry Royce lived from 1898 to 1908 and reputedly "tinkered" with inventions in the cellar before his historic 1904 meeting with Charles Rolls. Mr Rix and his wife Jane, through architect Daniel Waugh, argued its removal would cause no harm to the building or conservation area, but the council disagreed, saying there was "no convincing justification" to outweigh the harm removal would cause. The couple, who did not give reasons for wanting the plaque removed, now have six months to appeal the decision.