Almondsbury man receives second fine for ignoring enforcement notice
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Published: 17/11/2014
Colin Williams of Over Lane in Almondsbury was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of a further £1,000 when he appeared before Yate Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 13 November.
Williams pleaded guilty to a second offence of failure to comply with an enforcement notice, relating to two residential caravans kept on his land, which was originally served on him in July 2012.
After an appeal was lodged against the notice, Williams was given 12 months to remove the caravans but failed to take action by the end of the compliance period on 30 November 2013 and we launched a prosecution. The court heard how Williams had made no attempt to find alternative accommodation in the 12 month period and had only applied for change of use of the land after prosecution proceedings had begun.
Williams was originally convicted at Bristol Crown Court on 21 March 2014 where he was fined £500 with £500 costs. This second prosecution follows the removal of one caravan, however evidence shows that the other vehicle continues to be occupied by Williams.
Communities Committee Chair Cllr Claire Young said: “Planning regulations and enforcement notices are there to help protect the local environment. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence and any breaches are taken very seriously.“Our planning enforcement team will take appropriate action when a breach to the planning rules occur such as building, changing or demolishing structures without permission or using sites for unauthorised purposes.”
The site is agricultural land in the green belt and is also used by Williams to breed Alpacas. The location of the on-site caravans were detrimental to the surrounding visual amenity and the openness of the green belt, which failed to respect the character of the rural area. Vehicles, sheds and domestic paraphernalia such as bins, trailers, timber, washing machines, kennels and gas canisters have also added to the untidy appearance of the site and the damaging impact on the green belt.
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