Resident fined for having untidy garden
A Brookside resident is £855 worse off after a court convicted her of having an untidy garden following a prosecution by Telford & Wrekin Council.
Mandy Jones, of Bishopdale, was served a Section 215 Untidy Land Notice under the Town & Country Planning Act.
This followed complaints that the garden was overgrown and the rear boundary fence had collapsed. The notice required the fence to be erected and the land tidied.
The notice was not complied with and the Ms Jones was prosecuted on December 4 and convicted in her absence by Shropshire Magistrates Court, sitting in Telford.
Ms Jones was fined £440, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £44 and costs of £351.
Councillor Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Enforcement, said: “We often receive complaints regarding overgrown, unkempt and untidy gardens and we always serve notice first.
“We only bring a prosecution if the owner of the garden fails to take action to clear things up.
“As well as being unsightly, overgrown gardens can attract other environmental crimes such as fly tipping and cause a nuisance to other residents.”
