Battle carpenter fined £1k for erecting '˜eyesore' shed

A self-employed carpenter from Battle was fined almost £1,000 after being prosecuted for illegally erecting an '˜eyesore' shed near his home.
Henri Charles Burnham-Cocke was fined almost ?1,000 for building the shed without planning permission. Picture: East Sussex County CouncilHenri Charles Burnham-Cocke was fined almost ?1,000 for building the shed without planning permission. Picture: East Sussex County Council
Henri Charles Burnham-Cocke was fined almost ?1,000 for building the shed without planning permission. Picture: East Sussex County Council

Henri Charles Burnham-Cocke built the wooden structure next to his ground floor flat, in Shirlea View, without planning permission, according to East Sussex County Council.

After failing to respond to letters from Rother District Council telling him to remove the structure, the 27-year-old was summoned before Hastings Magistrates on Friday, December 1.

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A spokesman for the county council said: “Burnham-Cocke admitted failing to conform with a planning enforcement notice and was fined £200 and ordered to pay £735.10 in prosecution costs and a £30 victim surcharge.”

People living in flats require planning permission for external structures such as sheds.

Councillor Gillian Johnson, Rother District Council cabinet member for strategic planning, said: “Apart from not having planning permission, this shed was extremely unsightly and caused an eyesore for other residents.

“Initiating court action is not something we do lightly but we won’t hesitate to take this course when all other avenues have failed, in order to avoid unauthorised developments which have a detrimental effect on residents.

“Burnham-Cocke was given ample opportunity to respond to our planning officers but failed to do so, which is why he finds himself with a court conviction against his name and a hefty bill to pay.”