Court success - Edgehill Quarry Prosecution

Leamington Magistrates Court awarded Stratford-on-Avon District Council £150 costs following a recent prosecution and fined Andrew Baughan of St Mary's Close, Priors Hardwick, Southam £295 (with a £15 victim surcharge) for failing to respond to a Planning Contravention Notice.

The Planning Contravention Notice was issued under the Town and Country Planning Act that required Mr Baughan to provide information concerning planning issues* at his site at Edgehill Quarry, Edgehill.  The notice was not complied with and legal proceedings were commenced resulting in a successful outcome for the District Council.

Cllr Chris Williams, Chairman of Regulatory Committee says: “Cases like this show how important it is to comply with planning legislation and if the District Council is not getting all the relevant information needed then it can issue a Planning Contravention Notice.  People who continue to break these rules risk legal action and significant penalties. This demonstrates that the District Council will not be deterred from taking action, when appropriate."

Ward member, Cllr Simon Jackson says: “I am grateful to the officers of the District Council's Enforcement team for their dogged persistence in seeking to rectify a situation that for sometime has had a negative impact on the ANOB."

*The planning issues on the site were the unauthorised use of land for storage of vehicles, plant, machinery and stationing of caravans.

A Planning Contravention Notice is served to obtain information about suspected unauthorised development or in the first stage of enforcement action.  The notice seeks to establish a number of facts, such as the exact use(s) of the land or buildings, when those uses commenced, when the development commenced, and when was it substantially completed, as well as who has a legal interest in the land.

The information that is provided is assessed to decide whether further action is required.   Failure to complete and return a planning contravention notice within 21 days, without proof there is a reasonable excuse for not doing so is an offence.   Furthermore, it is also an offence if any of the information is known to be false or misleading and the person guilty of the offence would be liable for a fine.