Residents and landowners are being warned not to encroach on Green Belt land following a recent prosecution.
The warning follows news that the owner of a property in Keston had extended their garden into 2 neighbouring fields forming part of the Green Belt, without express permission and contrary to planning law. Ayse and Gevdet Mehmet, the owners of 1 Mantles Cottages pled guilty at Bromley Magistrates Court to failing to comply with a planning enforcement notice and were sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £594 of costs and a victim surcharge of £26.
The court heard that in March 2021, the residential garden had been extended and the land fenced in, creating a lawned area and adding several plants with individual stone borders. This constituted unauthorised incorporation of Green Belt Land within the residential curtilage and was also contrary to various planning conditions relating to a previously granted planning application.
In July 2023, an enforcement notice was issued requiring the owner or occupier to stop using the additional land within the garden, remove the fencing and stone borders and restore the land to the condition before the breach of planning control by 30 October 2023. A subsequent visit to the property in March 2024 showed that the two extra areas of Green Belt land remained enclosed as part of the residential garden, in breach of the Notice.
A council spokesperson said, “Whilst prosecution is an absolute last resort, we will and do take enforcement action and prosecute where needed to protect the Green Belt. The openness of Green Belt land is important.
The spokesperson continued, “In this case, the planning conditions in a previous planning permission made it clear, that in support of the Green Belt, development shall not be carried out otherwise than in complete accordance with the previously approved plans unless agreed by the council in writing. When the situation had not changed after all the correspondence and the issuing of the planning enforcement, we were left with no option other than to prosecute.”
See www.bromley.gov.uk/Prosecutions for information about other enforcement and prosecution work the council undertakes to protect residents.
Ends
Editors’ notes - If someone doesn't comply with the notice by the end of the compliance period, they are guilty of an offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, with the prosecution taking place at Bromley Magistrates Court on 8 October 2024.
For media enquiries, please contact David Aderogba, Public Affairs Officer, on 020 8466 3060 or email david.aderogba@bromley.gov.uk.