South Ealing Couple in Court Over Illegal Building

Appeal dismissed by Secretary of State

A couple in South Ealing have been fined after ignoring an enforcement notice to remove a detached rear garden building from a property they own on Olive Road.

Mr and Mrs Gor of Sycamore Avenue, Ealing, appeared before Ealing Magistrates Court on Thursday, 12 August 2010, where they pleaded guilty to failing to act on an enforcement notice by the compliance date.

Council planning officers served an enforcement notice in April 2009 giving the owners three months to tear down the building, after they failed to remove the single storey detached outbuilding as initially requested.

The owners appealed to the Secretary of State in November 2009, but the appeal was dismissed and the enforcement notice upheld.

They were fined £3000 (£1500 each) and ordered to pay the council's £1821.77 prosecution costs. The detached outbuilding was eventually removed after the council initiated prosecution proceedings.

Deputy Leader, Councillor Ranjit Dheer, said: “The council takes these matters seriously, and when necessary we will take action against residents who try to flout the law.
“I hope this case serves as a lesson to others who think that they can ignore notices from the council in the hope of getting away with building developments without proper planning permissions.”

23 August 2010