Council ‘failed to take sufficient care or carry out adequate investigation’ in Milton Keynes enforcement case

The Planning Inspectorate has ruled that Milton Keynes Council must pay costs to a local resident at the centre of a battle over whether his house in Portland Drive, Willen, has been built too big.

And, in an unusual step, they have also ordered MK Council to pay costs of the Willen Residents Group, who have been calling for the council to order the demolition of Manoj Srivastava’s home.

In a decision letter dated September 9, the Planning Inspectorate ruled: “In the circumstances described the Secretary of State finds it difficult to avoid the conclusion that the council failed to take sufficient care or carry out adequate investigation” before issuing an enforcement notice.

The enforcement notice was withdrawn by the council after the appeal battle had started.

It found that the council’s actions amounted to it being “unreasonable”, although the council denied that.

Both Mr Srivastava and the Willen Residents Group had paid for experts to put forward at a planning appeal, which has been scrapped following the withdrawal.

The council has lodged another enforcement notice on the home owner, which he has also appealed. That appeal has yet to be heard.

A spokesman for the Willen Residents Group said: “The actions of senior officers at the council have been simply unacceptable over Portland Drive.

“They continue to act against national planning policy, they undermine public confidence in the planning system and they are failing the residents of Willen and Milton Keynes with their ineffective enforcement action.

“There is a long-standing history of ineffective planning enforcement in Milton Keynes and the Willen Residents Group is now calling on the Secretary of State to intervene to restore public confidence.”

A spokesman for Milton Keynes Council said: “This outcome is in relation to the withdrawal of a previous enforcement notice and doesn’t relate to the merits of the case or national planning policy.

“It is up to the planning inspector to determine whether the current enforcement notice is consistent with national planning policy.”