Loughborough Echo

Council defends decision on barn

- By Megan Cox megan.cox@trinitymir­ror.com

THE borough council has defended its decision to take enforcemen­t action against a man who converted a barn into a home without planning permission.

And the council explained why the same approach had not been taken with developers that breached conditions.

Last month the Echo reported that William De Ferrers was ordered to pay a £28,000 fine following a prosecutio­n by Charnwood Borough Council.

He pleaded guilty at Leicester Crown Court to failing to comply with an enforcemen­t notice which ordered him to stop using a barn in Narrow Lane, Wymeswold, as a home.

The court heard that permission was granted for a barn in 2006 but a condition stated it could only be used in for livery and horse breeding.

In 2015 De Ferrers was served an enforcemen­t notice after it came to the council’s attention that it was being used as a home. He appealed the notice but it was rejected in 2016.

After the hearing, a council spokespers­on said: “Planning regulation­s are there to make sure the local character and environmen­t are protected. If those regulation­s are broken then we will take enforcemen­t action, including prosecutio­n, if they are not complied with.”

The Echo has since been asked why the council did not take enforcemen­t action when Persimmon Homes, the developer building on land off Hathern Road, Shepshed, breached planning permission by removing hedging earlier this year.

And why action was not taken against Jelson Homes after work started at Melton Road, Barrowupon-Soar, before relevant planning conditions had been discharged.

A council spokespers­on said: “We will always investigat­e suspected breaches of planning permission and we will always take appropriat­e action.

“However, this will not always be enforcemen­t action. It’s not a case of not being hard enough on developers, action is dependent on the nature of the breach, the harm being caused and negotiatio­ns taking place.

“Planning enforcemen­t is at the discretion of the council. Government guidance and the National Planning Policy Framework state that local planning authoritie­s should take action ‘where appropriat­e’. The guidance also encourages negotiatio­n.

“If negotiatio­ns fail we will weigh up all of the factors of the case, including public interest. This means that we consider what the public would want us to do in the situation.

“In the cases mentioned, we negotiated with the developers and were able to resolve the breach in planning permission, so enforcemen­t action wasn’t required.

“In the case of the barn conversion, the developer failed to engage in negotiatio­ns, we weighed up the factors of the case and decided that enforcemen­t action was necessary.”

 ??  ?? The barn in Narrow Lane, Wymeswold.
The barn in Narrow Lane, Wymeswold.

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