12:10pm Monday 8th February 2010
By Andrew Napier
MAGISTRATES have fined an Alresford man for breaches of planning rules in a hamlet near the town.
Graham Lailey has been ordered to pay more than £8,000 for failing to comply with two planning enforcement notices issued by Winchester City Council.
Lailey, of Upper Wield near Alresford, was fined a total of £4,300 and also told to pay the council legal costs of £4,700.
The notices related to the unauthorised construction of a steel framed building and the erection of a four-metre high bund made from waste materials.
Lailey initially contested the case but later changed his plea to guilty.
The works were carried out at a waste recycling business that he operates from a site in Upper Wield known as Barton Farm Industrial Estate.
Although Lailey has since complied with the requirement to demolish the original bund, the magistrates in Aldershot ruled that he was too slow to undertake the works, as a planning inspector had already given him an extended period to comply.
The steel framed building remains and Lailey advised the court that he was in the process of submitting plans to Hampshire County Council to retain it and use it to ‘de-pollute end of life vehicles’.
A spokesman for the city council said: “The planning merits of these works were fully considered by a Government-appointed Inspector, who agreed with the city council that they should be removed.
“Mr Lailey was given every opportunity to comply with the enforcement notices but he failed to do so within the specified time scales.”
Cllr Keith Wood, portfolio holder for planning and access, added: “This case sends out a clear message that the council will not tolerate blatant breaches of planning rules. The planning enforcement team is continuing to pursue these types of cases, and those who fail to comply with enforcement orders are likely to face large fines.”
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