Council takes direct action to clear eyesore

A resident who used his front garden as a rubbish dump will have a bill from Crawley Borough Council following its direct action to clear up this week.

The front garden of the privately-owned mid-terrace property, in Johnson Walk, Tilgate, has been an eyesore for months. It was first reported to the council at the end of May.

The council's senior planning investigation officer visited and saw that the front garden had several refuse sacks, rolls of carpet and other items.

The council wrote to the owner on June 3 requesting that all refuse sacks and rolls of carpet be removed within 28 days. When officers revisited all of the rubbish was still there.

A final warning letter was sent requesting that all bags of rubbish and rolls of carpet be removed from the property within seven days. No response was received and the eyesore remained.

As no correspondence had been received from the owner of the property, delegated authority was given to serve notice, giving the owner a month from August 8 to clear up.

A site visit on September 9 revealed that the notice had not been complied with and on September 27 authority to take direct action was given by the council's Development Control Committee.

On Wednesday (October 13) a team of officers visited the property, removed all the rubbish and re-turfed the front garden. The council will place a charge on the land in order to get its money back from the cost of the works.

Councillor Keith Blake, Cabinet member for Environmental Services, said: "Despite repeated requests, this homeowner refused to remove the rubbish from the front garden, causing a major eyesore to everyone who lives in the vicinity or passes by.

"The council had no option but to clear this up. This homeowner now faces a hefty bill to repay the council's costs."