A landlord who built an illegal outbuilding to store his tenants’ belongings has been ordered to pay more than £23,000.

Haig Squire built the detached building at a property in Augustine Road, Minster, without planning permission. Following a complaint from a neighbour, Swale Borough Council issued an enforcement notice for the removal of the ‘obtrusive’, ‘oppressive’ and ‘overbearing’ structure in May 2019.

Squire appealed the enforcement notice, but this was dismissed in December 2019, and he was told to demolish the building and return the land to its original condition by March 2020. He failed to comply with this deadline.

Face prison

At Maidstone Crown Court, Squire admitted the offence and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,258, and a victim surcharge of £2,000. He must pay up by September or face up to 12 months in prison.  

Councillor Mike Baldock (pictured), chair of the planning committee, says it was a long drawn-out saga.

“We will always work with everyone involved to try and reach an amicable conclusion, but in this case the landlord refused to comply, ignoring our enforcement notice, and leaving us no choice but to go to court,” he explains.

“The landlord was negatively impacting his neighbours through noise and the position and size of the building whilst making an income from this building, that had no planning permission.  

“This large fine should stand as a warning to those who want to flout our planning rules, which are there to make sure any developments are responsible, safe, and don’t have unreasonable impact on our neighbours.”