Man jailed for refusing to demolish homes he built near Whitchurch without planning permission
A man has been jailed after refusing to demolish two homes he built for his family near Whitchurch without planning permission.
Landowner Michael Merrill, of Six Acres in Wirswall Road, Wirswall, in Cheshire north of Whitchurch, has been in a planning dispute with Cheshire East Council for more than a decade.
He has now been jailed for a year and hit with a £16,917 court bill after refusing to comply with a court order to demolish family buildings he unlawfully erected.
Merrill, 53, who referred to himself in court as Adam, built a dwelling for his family and a second for his in-laws. He had also constructed other unauthorised buildings, all in open countryside and without planning permission.
He was originally served with an enforcement notice by the council in 2014 and has since ignored steps by the council to have the properties removed. He claimed he had the right to "live on the land" and that the Town and Country Planning Act did not apply to him and his wife. This was rejected by a judge.
The council was granted a High Court injunction in October 2022, which required the removal of unauthorised development at Six Acres. However, Merrill failed to comply with the injunction and on January 26, 2024 he was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, for contempt of court.
Merrill was given further opportunity to comply with the injunction, which required all residential use of the land ceased by July 2024 and all unauthorised development demolished and removed by January 2025. However, Merrill ignored the injunction.
The matter was referred back to court for further contempt proceedings. Merrill was sentenced in his absence, at the High Court in Manchester on May 19, 2025, to 12 months in prison.
Owing to his failure to attend the court hearing a warrant was to be issued for his arrest. He was also ordered to pay the council’s costs of £16,917.
On January 12, Merrill was arrested and taken to prison in Liverpool to serve his sentence.
Councillor David Jefferay, chair of Cheshire East Council’s environment and communities committee, said: “Prison is the ultimate sanction which can be handed down by a court in matters concerning unauthorised development.
“They are not proceedings which are taken lightly by the council. However, where there exists a continuing flagrant breach of planning control and where a landowner continues to carry out further unauthorised development, despite an injunction being in place, there is little option left to us.
“Irrespective of the landowner serving time in prison, he is still required to comply with the requirements of the injunction – and these remain outstanding.”
