AN ENFIELD HOMEOWNER has been fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £4,500 in costs after he extended his property without requesting planning permission.
Yasin Mohamedassen of Medcalf Road, Enfield was prosecuted by Enfield Council and appeared at Wood Green Crown Court on 28 August 2015. Despite denying charges, he was found guilty of failing to comply with a planning enforcement notice contrary to s179 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
He was given until 30 November 2015 to comply with the order to reduce the extension or face further action.
Two complaints from members of the public were made to Enfield Council about Mr Mohamedassen’s extension. In March 2012 one member complained about the size and in January 2013 a second member came forward proving the extension was not over four years old as he had claimed.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Daniel Anderson, said “Planning rules are there to protect residents from inappropriate and disruptive developments, and it is completely unacceptable for any individual to ignore the law and any instructions to modify a structure when the council intervene.”
A planning enforcement notice was issued by Enfield Council on 14 May 2013, which required the reduction of the rear extension to a maximum depth of three metres by September 2013. On 23 October 2013 an officer visited the premises and saw that no action had been taken to reduce the structure.
Cllr Daniel Anderson added: “The ruling by the court is a clear warning to people who build without consideration to their neighbours or their surroundings, and think they can do whatever they want regardless of the impact their activities have on people living near their homes.
“We will not tolerate anyone who displays a calculated disregard for the law and cynical indifference to the effect of their actions on their neighbours, and we will always work tirelessly to protect the interest of the people living in this borough.”
On 24 April 2014 Mr Mohamedassen was summoned to court to answer why he had not complied with the enforcement notice. At the hearing on 22 May he pleaded not guilty.
On 28 August 2015 he was sentenced by the judge who said in his opinion the defendant had been ‘foolish’. The judge also remarked this was a ‘fight he could not win’ and advised if Mr Mohamedassen did not alter the extension he would incur further costs.