Homes giant fined £20,000

UK property giant George Wimpey will have to pay out more than £20,000 after the company flouted planning rules and put up more than 90 metres of illegal fencing in Market Drayton.

The Environment Agency prosecuted Wimpey North Midlands Ltd after the developers put up five different fences while building 146 homes on land west of Adderley Road.

At Market Drayton Magistrates' Court yesterday the company admitted five charges of putting the fencing up without consent within eight metres of the top of the Sych Brook river bank.

The fencing was put in the wrong place without the agency's permission and the court was told the company had breached the law and could have "endangered members of the public and property had there been a flood".

At court yesterday magistrates said the business, which is one of the country's largest housebuilders, was big enough to be aware of the framework in place when it came to building near rivers and watercourses.

Magistrates fined Wimpey £3,500 for each of the five bylaw breaches and awarded full costs of £2,787.31.

Mr Damien Healey, prosecuting, said the land drainage bylaw was in place to protect people and property from flooding and it had been set at eight metres so the Environment Agency could access the river bank and remove obstructions or do flood protection work if needed.

He said a number of site visits were carried out and the fencing problem was flagged up but it had not been taken down and more had gone up.

Mr Healey said: "In relation to three or four of the offences it was deliberate breaches of the law rather than carelessness.

"It was also a restriction on the Environment Agency's ability to access the area and could have endangered members of the public and property had there been a flood event."

Iain Johnston, for Wimpey, said there had been a change of site manager which had added to the problems, but the company admitted it had not complied with the bylaw.

He said the company was making efforts to resolve the situation and apologised for the situation arising.

By Oliver Cartwright