Flintshire Council defends another appeal against decision to serve an Enforcement Notice on Afonwen resident

Flintshire County Council said it has successfully defended another appeal against its decision to serve an Enforcement Notice on a property in Afonwen.

The Council had received a number of complaints that the land surrounding the property known as Tangnefedd was being used to store up to 60 vehicles in various stages of disrepair as well as building materials, machinery and general household rubbish.

“Flintshire’s planning officers noted that the land was having an adverse effect on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers and on the surrounding area and as a consequence tried to work with the land owner to agree a plan of action to allow the land to be tidied up.” The council said.

The timescales for clearing the land were not met and a Section 215 Notice was served on the land owners 17 January 2020.

The requirements of the Enforcement Notice were:

-Remove all unroadworthy vehicles, scrap, vehicle parts and general mechanical paraphernalia.
-Remove all plumbing pipes, heating unit/boilers, building machinery and building material.
-Remove all gas bottles, metal stage infrastructure, tarpaulin, filing cabinets and household rubbish.

The owners submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

However, the Inspector agreed with the Council’s reasons for serving the Enforcement Notice and the appeal was dismissed but with an extension to the timescales to six months, giving the land owners more time to comply with the Notice.

Flintshire’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Public Protection, Councillor Christopher Bithell, said:

“Once again, the Council has listened to concerns of local residents and acted on those concerns.”

“This sends a clear message that allowing an accumulation of refuse, scrap and debris – even if it is on your own land – is not acceptable when it impacts on your neighbours.”

“This successful decision by the Planning Inspector shows that Flintshire was again right to take the concerns of local residents on board and act accordingly.”