Wrexham County Borough Council have prosecuted the owner of land at Bowers Road in Acrefair for failing to comply with the requirements of an Enforcement Notice. Planning permission for the erection of stables on the land was refused in 2023. However, works to level the land and to alter a vehicular access had taken place without planning permission. An Enforcement Notice was served in May 2023 requiring the original land levels to be reinstated and the vehicular access to be closed. Although some works to comply with the notice took place during 2023 and 2024, they were not sufficient to fully comply with the requirements of the Notice.
The owner was ordered to pay a fine of £500, with £550 costs and £200 victim surcharge. Works have also now taken place to meet the outstanding requirements of the Notice.
Councillor Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Planning and Public Protection, said: “The outcome of this case is another example of the Council’s Planning Enforcement Team responding robustly were planning regulations are breached.
Landowners should seek advice from the Council’s Planning Officers before undertaking development to make sure they do not breach planning regulations. Where breaches do occur, landowners should act promptly to undertake works to resolve them as soon as possible to avoid the risk of prosecution”.
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David Fitzsimon, Chief Officer for Economy and Planning at Wrexham Council, said: “Our Officers respond robustly to breaches of planning control by taking enforcement action. Prosecution is a last resort and the Council will only peruse this option where landowners fail to take appropriate steps to address breaches of planning control. The Council officers a pre-application advice service. Using this service can provide landowners with the advice they need to help them avoid breaching planning regulations in the first place”
