Couple fined £12,000 over planning breach

A Santon couple has been fined £12,000 for failing to tear down seven tourist properties after being ordered to do so.

Vincent and Eileen Marlow of Quines Hill in Port Soderick put up the buildings at Ard Na Mara in Santon.

But they'd only been given permission to convert a barn into four properties - prompting action from planners.

They were served with an enforcement notice in 2013 and a court confirmed the order in 2014.

Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes heard the notice should have been complied with last September - but the buildings were still standing, leading to a charge of failing to comply with a notice to knock them down.

They denied the offence but were found guilty and Mrs Hughes fined the couple a total of £12,000 as well as ordering them to pay £2,000 costs.
They'll also still have to tear down the properties in question.
 
After their conviction, Tim Baker MHK, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture member with responsibility for planning, said effective enforcement is vital to maintain public confidence in the planning system.