The director of a Hayes pub has been ordered to pay more than £11,500 after repeatedly ignoring requests by Hillingdon Council to remove a wooden canopy that had been built alongside the building without planning permission.
Sarvdeep Singh, director of Great Western Pubs PVT Ltd, which leases The Great Western public house in Dawley Road, admitted a charge of breaching a planning notice when he appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 27 January.
The court was told the council’s planning enforcement team visited the site on 27 June 2023 following a tip-off, and discovered a wooden, flat-roofed structure had been erected at the side of the pub. The council sent letters the following day, explaining the owners must remove the structure or apply to keep it.
During July and November 2023, the council subsequently received three separate applications for retrospective planning permission. They were each refused on the grounds of the structure leading to increased noise, activity and disturbance late into the evening, the court heard.
The second of these requests was referred on appeal to the Planning Inspectorate which upheld the council’s original decision on 20 December 2024.
The court was told a planning enforcement notice was served on 7 May 2024, requiring the demolition of the structure and removal of all materials, with a date for compliance of 18 August 2024, however a subsequent site visit by council officers confirmed the notice had not been complied with.
Sentencing, District Judge Kathryn Verghis, said “There is no good reason why the company didn’t take down the construction when they were told do so by the council. They have taken the council away from other important work; planning breaches affect the local community.
“Responsible business must give effect to the law in place.”
Cllr Steve Tuckwell, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and Growth, said: “This business was given ample opportunity to comply, but instead chose to ignore the council’s enforcement notice in an act of utter disregard.
“Planning legislation may seem like frustrating red tape, but it plays a vitally important role in ensuring all developments meet the same, specific requirements which are there to ensure safety, quality and to protect and preserve local communities.”
Singh was fined £4,000 for the breach and further ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £1,600, and the council’s prosecution costs of £5,918.
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