Published Friday, 15th July 2016
Owners of a property in Horley have been fined almost £5,000 following a successful planning enforcement prosecution by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council.
The residential property with large muddy fields off Harrowsley Green Lane had been used for unauthorised off-airport parking. Over 500 vehicles were parked in breach of planning control.
Mr David Flitton and Mrs Eliza Flitton, both of Baleene, Harrowsley Green Lane, Horley had allowed their land to be illegally used by Britannia Airport Parking (also known as Easy Parking Gatwick) which provided parking to users of Gatwick Airport. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council served a temporary stop notice requiring the parking activity to stop immediately but Mr and Mrs Flitton did not comply.
“This was a very serious breach of planning rules which we will not tolerate in our borough. The owners of the land did not have planning permission to use the field for the purpose of allowing commercial parking and, having ignored our enforcement notices, we had no choice but to take legal action against them,” says Councillor Mark Brunt, Chairman of Reigate & Banstead’s planning committee.
Cllr Brunt explained the impact of the planning breach on local residents: “To access the parking, large numbers of vehicles were driven along private roads and narrow tracks to reach the fields beyond. Local residents had to suffer excessive noise and disruption at all hours of the day and night.”
Mr David Flitton and Mrs Eliza Flitton pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a Temporary Stop Notice at Redhill Magistrate’s Court on 7 June 2016.
The land owners were prosecuted under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. They were fined £4,675 with an additional £100 costs. 521 vehicles were parked in breach of planning control.