A man from Doncaster has been fined a massive £250,000 and costs of £13,575.35 after he pleaded guilty of breaching an enforcement notice, issued by Doncaster Council, on five occasions.
Nigel Smith had laid hardcore at the farm to form a compound and brought in a residential caravan. He later introduced portable offices for business linked to the site as well as installing a number of shipping storage containers. As Mr. Smith did not have planning permission for any of this, the local planning authority served an enforcement notice which required Mr Smith to stop the activities.
Mr Smith unsuccessfully appealed against the enforcement notice and subsequently failed to comply with it. It was after he failed to comply with the notice twice that Doncaster Council took him to court where he was fined £2,000 in 2011, after which he continued to carry on his activities at the farm.
As a result, further action was taken, and he was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court of breaching an enforcement notice on five occasions, leading to one of the biggest fines given out in the UK.
Peter Davies, Mayor of Doncaster, said, "I am pleased with this result. It sends a clear message that Doncaster Council will not tolerate people using land for unlawful and inappropriate purposes. We will always seek to prosecute in these cases."
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