The council issued an Enforcement Notice ordering the landowner to remove the unauthorised structure dubbed by locals as the ‘Berlin Wall’ between two housing estates
An eyesore concrete wall, labelled ‘The Berlin Wall’ by disgruntled locals, has landed the landowner in hot water after it blocked a popular walking path used by parents on the school run.
West Devon Borough Council has clamped down with an Enforcement Notice demanding the removal of the intrusive ‘Berlin Wall’ that’s sprung up between two housing estates on Kellands Lane in Okehampton, Devon. It blocked the path parents use to drop and collect their children at St James Primary School in the town.
The council slapped a ‘Temporary Stop Notice’ on April 17 to halt further construction and followed through with an Enforcement Notice on April 25, which will come into force on May 27.
Enforcement notices are issued when someone carries out work without the required planning permission. They explain the violation, state how to fix it and give a deadline for the job.
An enforcement notice is used when development is carried out without the necessary planning permission, reports Devon Live.
The notice tells the person receiving it what they have done wrong, what must be done to put it right and the timescale within which that must be done. There is a right of appeal against enforcement notices.
Councillor Caroline Mott, lead member for planning and the built environment at West Devon Borough Council, said: “The Council has taken action to have the structure removed and hope the inconvenience to the community will be resolved as a matter of urgency.”