Southampton man fined £2,700 for breaching planning rules
Massoud Yeganegy has been prosecuted by the City Council
A Southampton property developer and landlord has been fined £2,700 for breaching planning rules.
Massoud Yeganegy from Chilworth had been renting out an annexe to a property in Prince of Wales Avenue as a separate entity.
He'd had planning applications for a self-contained dwelling turned down by Southampton City Council previously, but was given consent for a two-storey, one-bedroom extension back in 2014.
The initial refusal was due to concerns over outdoor space, and negatively impacting the character of the area, and its neighbours.
In 2015, the authority got complaints that the property had been subdivided and was being used as two separate dwellings.
That was confirmed by a site visit by Planning Enforcement Officers, who found that a connecting door was locked and due to be blocked, and the front fence and hedge, had not been installed.
Mr Yeganegy was given the opportunity to comply with the conditions but failed to do so and a Breach of Condition Notice was issued.
At this time, the property was returned to a single dwelling and the connecting door reinstated.
In November 2022, further complaints about the use of the property were received and again Planning Enforcement Officers visited the site, finding that the connecting door had been plastered over, the fence and hedge were still not installed and that two unrelated tenants were occupying the divided property.
As a result, Mr Yeganegy was summoned to Southampton Magistrates’ Court for failure to comply with the Breach of Condition Notice.
He then submitted a retrospective planning application, which delayed the court case, but this was refused permission by Southampton City Council.
Mr Yeganegy appealed against the council’s decision, but in the meantime entered a guilty plea at the Magistrates’ Court.
Sentencing was then delayed until the outcome of the appeal to the Planning Inspector who, last month, upheld the original decision of Southampton City Council to refuse the retrospective application and allowing the sentencing hearing to go ahead.
In addition to a criminal conviction, Mr. Yeganegy was also fined a total of £2,730, including prosecution costs and surcharges and has to restore the property to compliance.
Councillor Sarah Bogle, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said:
“The planning system exists to balance an owners’ rights with those of their neighbours, communities, and others. Conditions are imposed on planning consents to ensure that developments do not place an undue burden on their neighbours, and our Planning Enforcement team has the powers to ensure that planning conditions are respected.
“In this case, our Planning Enforcement team took the appropriate action to protect the welfare of occupants as well as the amenity of neighbouring properties by bringing this prosecution.”