We all know that if you breach planning laws the local authority has increasing powers to force compliance.
But in an unusual move one local authority has used the Proceeds of Crime Act for a "Confiscation Order" over a property.
The landowner and developer in question had converted two dwellings into seven flats, in breach of planning legislation. The local authority had issued the landowner with enforcement notices with which the landowner failed to comply.
The local authority then applied to the Crown Court for a "Confiscation Order" through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The application resulted in a confiscation order of over £186,000. This figure equated to the sum that the Court held that the landowner had benefited as a result of the conversion. In addition, the landowner was given six months to pay or face a prison term of two and a half years.
Jason Bannister, who reviewed the case commented that "this is a case many local authorities have been watching to establish the outcome, as most of these orders have been used against kingpin drug dealers. Enforcement notices issued by Local Authorities are a criminal offence and any offer by a local authority to discuss and resolve issues is an offer not to be refused."
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