Miley Connors, 38, of Scant Road East, Hambrook, was fined £28,000 last month and ordered to pay £4,000 towards the Prosecuting Council’s costs following a sentencing hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court for breaching a planning Enforcement Notice. The notice required him to remove two chalet cabins from a permitted gypsy and traveller caravan site on land south of Scant Road East, Funtington.
Chichester District Council had previously given permission for a total of 10 mobile homes on the site. Mr Connors wanted to replace two of the caravans with wooden chalets.
In an Enforcement Notice issued in September 2019, the council said the chalets contravened the original permission as they were considered ‘built form’ and were built on raised breeze block foundations. They were described as ‘urban in appearance’ and were not considered to be sustainable development in a rural location. They were described as out of character for the site and its approved use.
During an appeal in January 2021 lodged by Mr Connors, he argued that the two chalets fell within the definition of caravans, and that the impact of the two chalets was no different to the mobile homes that were lawfully allowed on the site. Chichester District Council argued that structures were permanent dwellings and could not be easily moved.
Following the appeal, a Planning Inspector found in favour of the council. The Inspector said that, in their view, the chalets did add to the ‘sense of urbanisation of the site and would set a precedent that would be difficult to resist in the future’.
The inspector ordered that the chalets and their foundations be demolished within three months and for Mr Connors to remove any associated debris.
A site visit was carried out by the Planning Enforcement Team in February 2022 and found that the chalets had not been demolished. Following this, the council decided to take legal action.
“We have planning rules in place to protect areas of countryside in our district and if people contravene these policies, then our council will take action,” says Councillor Bill Brisbane, Cabinet Member for Planning at Chichester District Council. “As the judge noted in his summing up, this was a persistent period of non-compliance, and this was reflected in the high level of fine that the judge imposed.”
