A dad has been warned he will face jail unless he demolishes two homes he built on countryside land without getting the right permissions. Michael Merrill, 51, got into a disagreement with Cheshire East Council that lasted for 10 years after he erected two wooden houses in the sprawling Cheshire countryside, one for his close family and another for his in-laws.
After a slew of complaints, local authorities gave Merrill an enforcement notice back in 2014. The order explained that the properties were “all in open countryside and without planning permission”. The council said Merrill had “ignored all other legal steps by the council to have the properties removed”.
Despite this, Mr Merrill continued to ignore the council’s agenda to remove the buildings until recently when his case was taken to the High Court. Here, a judge told him he must dismantle the houses within a year or else face a 12-month suspended prison sentence for contempt of court.
By mid-July, Merrill must stop living on the land and he has been given until the end of January 2025 to pull down the property. The judge also ordered him to pay the council costs of £17,409 as well as £21,000 for costs from previous hearings.
A spokesperson from the council 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 told Merrill off in 2014 and said he had to change things back. He tried to fight it but lost in 2017. By October 2022, the council got really serious and told him he had until May the next year to fix everything or else.
Merrill didn’t do what they said, so the council took him to court.
Councillor Mike 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.
“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.”
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