Fuming neighbours call dad ‘arrogant’ after he refuses to tear down illegal homes
A LANDOWNER who has been threatened with jail unless he bulldozes two family homes he built without planning permission has been slammed as “arrogant”.
Michael Merrill, 51, built two wooden-clad properties on his land in the rural village of Wirsall, Cheshire, with one for his immediate family and another for his in-laws.
Neighbours have blasted the dad for openly defying planning laws in the ten-year battle with Cheshire East Council.
One said: “He’s arrogant.
“He thinks planning laws don’t apply to him and he can do what he wants.
“This has been a real saga and seems to just go on and on.”
Another neighbour, who was out walking among the rolling countryside, added: “He doesn’t cause any real problems but he can’t just defy the law.
“We’d all like to build things if we have room on our property but we have to obey planning law.
He thinks planning laws don’t apply to him and he can do what he wants
A neighbour of Michael Merrill
“But he just seems to think the law doesn’t apply to him.
“He’s unbelievable but he could be about to face the music.”
Following a string of complaints, Cheshire East slapped him with an enforcement notice in 2014.
The order stated the buildings were “all in open countryside and without planning permission”.
It added that Merrill had “ignored all other legal steps by the council to have the properties removed”.
Merrill continued to defy the council’s order to remove the buildings until the case was heard at the High Court in Manchester last month.
A YEAR TO TEAR DOWN THE HOMES
A judge ordered Merrill to tear down the houses within a year and handed him a 12-month suspended prison sentence for contempt of court.
Merrill was ordered to stop living on the land by mid-July, and has until the end of January 2025 to tear down the property.
The judge also awarded costs to the council of £17,409 in addition to £21,000-worth of costs from previous hearings.
A council spokesperson said: “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 the judge.”
The council served Merrill with an enforcement notice in 2014. He lodged an appeal but it was rejected in 2017.
COUNCIL INJUNCTION
In October 2022 the council was granted an injunction, giving Merrill until May 3 the following year to remove three buildings, a viewing platform and areas of hardstanding, and another three months to restore the land to its original condition.
When Merrill failed to comply with the order, the council prosecuted him in the High Court.
Councillor Mick Warren, chair of the environment and communities committee, said: “We do not seek to see people sent to prison for planning offences.
“Action to secure an injunction and an application for contempt of court are a last resort.
What are your rights?
Planning permission guidance according to gov.uk
You will need to request planning permission if you wish to build something new, make a major change to your building or change the use of your building – for example starting a business.
To find out if you need planning permission you should contact your Local Planning Authority through your council.
If planning permission is refused you can appeal.
You are able to appeal if you were refused planning permission for reasons that you think go against the LPA’s development plan or planning policy (you can usually find these on their website).
You can also appeal if you were granted planning permission with conditions you object to – you’ll need to explain why you think they’re unnecessary, unenforceable, vague, unreasonable or irrelevant.
Another ground for appeal is if the LPA has not given you a decision on your application and 8 weeks have passed since the date they told you they’d received it (or a different deadline you agreed with them has passed).
“However, where parties show no regard for the planning process in the event of unacceptable and inappropriate development, the council is left with no option but to pursue legal action and, in this instance, the property owners were given considerable time in which to comply with planning regulations.
“It is regrettable that the council had to take this action. Hopefully, the prospect of a 12-month prison sentence will result in compliance.
“The council has incurred substantial costs as well as officer time in this matter and this could have been invested in other areas within council services.
“It was important to ensure that planning law was complied with.”
The Sun Online approached Mr Merrill but he declined to comment.