A basement developer that advertised itself without proper consent on two sites must pay more than £10,000 after admitting breaching regulations.
Officers from Kensington & Chelsea's planning enforcement team saw advertisements for Cranbrook Basements Ltd at 6 Earls Court Gardens, Earls Court, and 26 Scarsdale Villas, Kensington, both situated within conservation areas.
The council said it did not have permission to display 28sq-m of advertisements along the front of the Earls Court Gardens address and 23sq-m along the front of the Scarsdale Villas property, and in May 2014 had previously been advised to remove all unauthorised adverts from the borough or face prosecution.
The company pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates’ Court on September 3, according to the council, to breaching the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007.
The prosecution comes as the council cracks down on developers who advertise without consent in conservation areas since May 2014.
In mitigation, the council said the court heard that the company believed the prosecution should have been dealt with in November 2014 when it was prosecuted for similar offences on other properties. Furthermore, it was asserted that it has not breached the advertisement regulations since November 2014 and amended how they advertise themselves in other residential locations.
In sentencing, District Judge Blake said that there could be no criticism of the council’s decision to prosecute, and acknowledged the effect adverts have on the amenity of residents and visitors to the K&C conservation areas.
The company was fined £2,400 for advertising on the sites, but told to pay £3,200 because it admitted the charge before trial. It was also ordered to pay costs of £8,000 and a victim surcharge of £120.
The company must pay the total figure of £10,520 within 28 days.
Cllr Timothy Coleridge, head of planning policy at the council, said: “If companies have any doubt about what advertising is permitted and how to go about getting advert consent we provide an excellent pre-application advice service which can help people avoid expensive mistakes. I would urge companies to seek formal advice from our planning officers rather than end up in court.
“In this case the company did not have permission to advertise in this manner and ignored previous warnings to remove the advertisements. We will not tolerate developers advertising illegally on residential streets within our conservation areas. The company’s actions left us with no alternative but to prosecute.”
The two offences of the display of unauthorised advertisements at 6 Earl’s Court Gardens, SW5 were witnessed on July 9 2014 and October 22 2014.
