Wiltshire Council wins appeal against enforcement notice to remove illegal buildings from woodland

The owner of the woods, Stephen Martin Windsor, of Johns Road, Bathwick, was found guilty of failure to comply with an enforcement notice ordering him to permanently demolish the buildings and remove the associated materials by Salisbury Magistrates Court on 16 February 2023. He appealed against the court's decision but lost the appeal at Salisbury Crown Court on 28 July 2023 and was ordered to pay full cost of £1,700.

The deciduous woodland owned by Mr Windsor is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has a very high degree of environmental protection as it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Mr Windsor purchased the land in 2021 and erected two buildings on the land without planning permission. The council requested that he remove the illegal buildings, as planning permission would not be granted on a site with such a high degree of environmental protection. He refused to do so and was served an enforcement notice on 26 January 2022.

Mr Windsor failed to comply with the enforcement notice and was prosecuted for breach of the Notice under Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Development Management, said: We are passionate about protecting Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty that fall within Wiltshire and our enforcement officers will take any action necessary to protect them.

At this time Mr Windsor has still not complied with the enforcement notice and has in fact carried out further unlawful development on the site.  As a result, an application for a High Court Injunction has been made, which if successful, will order the defendant to demolish the two buildings and remove the material.