In December 2024, Manchester Crown Court ordered two business owners to pay thousands of pounds after they were found guilty of breaching planning laws under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Two companies under their control were also sentenced at the hearing.
One business owner was the sole director of Chohan Properties Mcr Ltd and therefore the effective freehold owner of 1 Eltham Street in Levenshulme. Manchester City Council said it was being used illegally as a workshop and storage area in connection with the nearby Car Sound Studio. This was in breach of a planning enforcement notice.
In June 2018 the Manchester City Council's enforcement officers found that 1 Eltham Street was being used as a car repair and audio fitting garage, associated with Car Sound Studio. The required planning permissions were not in place.
According to officers, physical changes had been made at the property to facilitate the unauthorised use, which resulted in the local community submitting complaints.
An enforcement notice was issued in November 2019, which ordered the unauthorised use to stop and all works that did not have planning permission to be removed. The business owner appealed against the enforcement notice, which was dismissed by a planning inspector and costs awarded against him.
The city council's attempts to secure compliance with the notice included informal agreements with both business men to allow more time to comply, but the unauthorised use continued.
The city council worked with financial investigators from Salford City Council, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), on the money generated from the work.
The first businessman was ordered to pay a fine of £6,000 and has had £127,876.44 in criminal benefits confiscated.
The second businessman, director of Car Sound Studio and Security Ltd, was operating illegally from 1 Eltham Street. He has been ordered to pay a fine of £20,000. His criminal benefit totalled £745,673.70, but he was told to pay £30,000 by Manchester Crown Court as the amount available to him at the point of prosecution.
The men and their respective businesses were ordered to pay costs of £500 each, plus an extra £50 fine against the companies and a total £4,000 victims of crime surcharge. Overall this amounts to £189,976.44. They have been given a set timeframe to pay or face prison terms, the first businessman for 19 months, and the second for six months.
Councillor Gavin White, executive member for housing and development at the City Council, said: "Breaching and failing to comply with a planning notice is not a victimless crime. Planning rules are in place to make sure that properties are fit for use, that they are safe, and they do not impact on the lives of other residents and neighbours".
"I hope this acts as a warning to other businesses operating outside of the law that we are actively investigating and when we find breaches, we will use the full extent of the law to prosecute those who believe the rules do not apply to them".
"It is also reassuring that the Planning Inspectorate agreed with our position and rejected the appeals against the enforcement action – and it’s positive that our partnership with Salford City Council’s financial investigators has helped to confiscate the proceeds of their criminal enterprise".
