A FARMER who failed to submit a planning application for more than £5,000 of construction has been fined.
Peter Dutton, 56, of Antrobus, received a fine of £2,650, after creating a new residential access from his land onto Arley Road towards Appleton Thorn.
This included gates, fencing, and a large area of hardstanding across the field which required a planning application.
An enforcement notice was served, requiring that the unauthorised development be removed and the land reinstated to its former condition.
After failure to comply with the notice, the council sought to prosecute Dutton and he pleaded guilty at Warrington’s Combined Court to the offence of non-compliance with an enforcement notice.
In court, Dutton said that he had carried out the work himself, at a cost of around £5,500, and that he is in the process of making a retrospective planning application.
The judge in the matter said that given Dutton’s profession as a farmer, she found it surprising that he wasn’t aware he would require planning permission for the work.
Dutton must pay a £1,500 fine, a £150 victim surcharge and £1,100 costs.
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