Well said Xanthe,and yet more excuses from Adam! To suggest that £280,000 doesnt go very far is exactly what i would expect to hear from someone who has no idea how to spend public money effectively,and as we all know,there are plenty of those people!£280,000 could employ 10 enforcement officers for a year,and surely they would make significant headway with the problem,provided,of course,that they are given the support and leadership from their superiors.Adam,you say its no long term solution just to employ more people to deal with ever increasing number of cases.What is the alternative? Whatever solution the council has attempted in the last ten years has clearly failed miserably.If the owner is refusing access,then obviously the next step is to get a warrant.This is the normal proceedure,why do you consider this a big deal?Regarding the "scenario",the microwave is classed as a cooking facility,and is not allowed.The building is now capable of being used as an independent residential unit,and should become subject to further investigation.No enforcement officer could or would issue an enforcement notice at this stage,to suggest otherwise is misleading.He would have to have more evidence and then present this to the enforcement commitee,who would then authorise an enforcement notice,or not.If the council,as your scenario suggests,serve an enforcement notice with such flimsy evidence,then they deserve to pay the costs!To suggest that an enforcement officer would sit in his car,overnight,for eight hours,is pure fantasy.If the enforcement department are playing cat and mouse with these people,its because they allow it to happen.The scenario you have chosen is far from typical,and i can only presume you have done so in order to make the job look far more difficult than it actually is,and it would seem that the current regime are only too happy to go along with it.Sorry,Adam,thats how i see it,and i suspect many others do as well.
John Kerr ● 4865d