£1,000 fine after garage conversion

A retired Egham man was fined £1,000, seven years after converting his garage to house his pregnant daughter while she waited for council housing.

Derek Payne, 69, of Hurst Lane, appeared at Woking Magistrates Court, charged with failure to comply with an enforcement notice requiring him to remove a cooker and bath from his garage.

Payne, who admitted the charge and had to pay costs of £350, said the conversion of his garage was carried out through necessity, rather than choice.

Speaking after the case, he said: "I did it for my daughter, Helen, when she first became pregnant, because she could not find any council housing and the waiting list was so long.

"That was about seven years ago so why is there all the big fuss now?"

Runnymede Council officers visited Payne's home in 2001 and raised concerns the garage was being used as a self-contained living unit, without going through required planning procedures.

After his daughter moved out in 2004, Payne applied to the council for permission to legally use the garage as a residence, but it was refused. An enforcement notice was served in 2006, ordering him to remove the bath and cooker.

Payne, who has lived in his home for 48 years with wife, Pamela, removed the items weeks before the court hearing and thought the matter was over. He was surprised to find himself in court and even more so by the size of his fine.

He added: "I was not allowed to keep the hob and bath so I took them out and thought that was it.

"I thought the fine would be one or two-hundred pounds, but that was disgusting. If I have done wrong, you have got to put it in perspective. It hurts a little bit.

"I did not think it was a big deal, I really didn't and I still don't, but I guess the council do."

Speaking at the court hearing last month, Runnymede Council assistant solicitor, Bruce Bennett, said the breach of the enforcement notice had been ongoing since early 2006.

He added: "There is a clear public policy objective in ensuring that planning law is seen to be enforced and upheld."