Tewkesbury Borough Council has successfully prosecuted an individual for developing greenbelt land without planning permission and failing to comply with two planning enforcement notices.
Mr Shaun Dean Gorman, owner and occupier of Oaklands, Gloucester Road, Staverton which is within a designated greenbelt area, was found to have carried out unauthorised development on the land, including building walls, erecting fencing and installing lighting. He had also introduced a change of use of the land, again without permission, by using it as a commercial depot, and had constructed a large compound with an industrial-type building.
In February 2019, the council issued two enforcement notices which required the removal of all development carried out in breach of planning regulations and the restoration of the land to its former state. Mr Gorman was also required to cease using the land for commercial purposes.
On 15 March 2019, Mr Gorman appealed both enforcement notices, but on 17 April 2020 the Planning Inspector dismissed the appeals. Mr Gorman was given six months to comply with the notices’ requirements but failed to do so, and the council began legal proceedings in June 2022. At a hearing on 7 September 2022, he pleaded not guilty, but subsequently changed his plea to guilty in November 2022.
Sentencing took place on 6 March 2023, when Mr Gorman was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £752 costs and a £2,400 victim surcharge.
The prosecution was undertaken by One Legal, a legal service shared by Cheltenham Borough Council, Gloucester City Council, Stroud District Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council.
