Housing Havoc in Hillingdon

Hillingdon Council prosecuted a woman who disregarded planning rules, only one month after a £135,000 fine was issued to a landlord for breaking similar regulations.

Darshan Kingra, 49, of Windsor Avenue, had planning permission to build a single storey side and rear extension at her home in Hillingdon. It was revealed last year that she had built two extensions, instead of the initially agreed upon one extension. However, the extension that was built did not comply with the plans she had permission for, while the other extension was completely unauthorised, according to Hillingdon council.

Despite multiple warnings from the council, Mrs Kingra failed to amend the situation. She ignored the council’s requests to match the materials used on the existing building to the extension and demolish the unauthorised extension. This forced the Planning Enforcement Team to take legal action.

Mrs Kingra was previously prosecuted and fined in 2015 for similar charges. Even with the previous charges, Hillingdon council claimed she still ignored the council’s warnings.

Mrs Kinga appeared at the Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 22 August, where she was found guilty of breaching the planning enforcement notice. She was fined £7,500, in addition to £2,000 for court costs and a £170 victim surcharge. Her previous conviction was not taken into consideration during sentencing.

Mr Keith Burrows, Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation and Recycling, said: “We cannot allow people to ignore planning rules that are there to protect our borough and its residents.

“We gave Mrs Kingra plenty of opportunity to bring her building work in line with the law and she failed to take suitable action. Therefore, we were left with no choice but to prosecute.

“We won’t hesitate to take similar action again if required.”

This comes only one month after Mrs Nkennaya Oyidia Oke, 63, of Blossom Way, was fined over £135,000 for converting an Uxbridge house into rental flats and illegally renting them out to unwitting tenants.

In regard to Mrs Oke case, Mr Burrows said: “I hope this result serves as a warning that we’re not afraid to go the extra mile to ensure people who operate outside the law don’t profit from their crimes.

Both Mrs Kingra and Mrs Oke have so far declined to comment on their actions.

During 2018, Hillingdon council received over 460 complaints regarding planning enforcement. The majority of these complaints are either still ‘Under Investigation’ or ‘No Further Action’ was taken.

For more information on planning enforcement in Hillingdon, or if you wish to submit a complaint regarding planning enforcement, please visit: https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/planningenforcement

Josh