'Berlin Wall 2' must be demolished after being built in middle of housing estate
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."
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Therefore any use of the road as a thoroughfare is technically trespassing. He explained: 'There used to be a hedge here, but families would just walk around it and in the intervening years the estates have sprung up around it. 'A few weeks ago this wall suddenly appeared and everyone was confused. It cuts off everybody here. 'Last week a resident took things into his own hands and soon after the council issued an enforcement notice.' A spokesman for Leander Developments said: 'The land in question is under private ownership, and there is no public right of way across this land - this isn't a question of inconvenience to the public, as anyone who crosses this land is committing trespass. 'To date, we have received a stop notice, but not an enforcement notice. 'The recently erected temporary structure, on our land, was done for public safety and insurance purposes as Google Maps has started to show a right of way across this private land. 'Our insurance requires us to take reasonable steps to prevent trespass, and Google now showing this as a right of way could invalidate our insurance, unless we can demonstrate that we have taken positive steps to prevent illegal entry onto our land. 'On Thursday 17th April, a member of the public, with a digger, caused criminal damage by driving through this temporary structure. This has been filed with the police who have raised a crime number. 'We would recommend members of the public stay away from this structure as we cannot guarantee its integrity following this attack, and the stop notice served by the Council prevents us from undertaking any remedial work. 'To safeguard our insurance, we considered it our right under permitted developments to erect a temporary structure, and it is disappointing that Council is taking measures which allow trespassing to continue, despite making them aware that this was for insurance purposes. 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