Maidenhead & Windsor

A Littlewick Green business was found guilty of not complying with a Windsor and Maidenhead council enforcement notice and fined £14,000 when its owners appeared at Maidenhead magistrates court on Friday (January 25).

Options Utilities pleaded guilty to using Green Belt land at Ffiennes Farm, Littlewick Green, for the storage of diggers, compressors, lorries and materials including manhole covers, signage, ducting, pipes and cabinets.

The Windsor and Maidenhead council took enforcement action in September 2006 to prevent Options Utilities from using the land for storage purposes. An appeal against the notice was dismissed on July 17 2007 and the Secretary of State gave the business one month to comply with the notice.

However the use continued and the council sought to prosecute the business for failing to comply with the notice. Use ceased in mid-November but the offence had already continued for around three months and income accrued as a result.

Magistrates fined Options Utilities £20,000, reduced to £14,000 for an early guilty plea, plus costs for breaching the terms of an enforcement notice.

Ffiennes Farm landowners Christopher and Thomas Westacott pleaded not guilty to breaching the enforcement notice and will appear at Bracknell magistrates court on April 16.

Cllr Derek Wilson, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead planning and housing, said: "This result serves as a warning to anyone thinking about flouting planning laws – this is the council's 14th successful planning enforcement prosecution out of 14 over the last 12 months.

''We are taking a very tough line when it comes to enforcement; whether they are a small, medium or large organisation or an individual, they will not get away with it. The fact that 14 out of 14 prosecutions have been so successful is down to the robust cases being put together by our enforcement team, as a result of incidents being reported by vigilant residents.

"This case also underlines the importance the council places on protecting the Green Belt. Even though we are reluctantly being forced by the government to carry out a review of Green Belt use, we will continue to fight every corner to protect this priceless asset."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead