Haverfordwest Magistrates' Court (Image: Google Maps)
Last Updated: 5 minutes ago
A Pembrokeshire landowner who fought a planning prosecution at trial has lost, and now faces a bill of nearly £1,900.
The verdict
Stephen Hitchcock, of Newbridge, Letterston, was convicted at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court after denying he had failed to comply with an enforcement notice served by Pembrokeshire County Council. Magistrates found the case against him proved.
What he was accused of
The prosecution centred on land Hitchcock owns at St Nicholas. Magistrates heard that the council had served him with an enforcement notice setting out steps he was required to take, and that for more than a year and a half – from April 15, 2024 through to November 25, 2025 – those requirements went unmet.
Ignoring an enforcement notice is a criminal matter under Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which is the legislation the council relied on to bring the case.
The penalty
Hitchcock was fined £220. The bulk of the amount he must pay, however, is made up of the council’s prosecution costs, which were set at £1,591. An £88 victim services surcharge takes the total to £1,899.
The court made a collection order, and the full sum must be paid by October 7.
