Council loses garbage in garden battle

A Dorking man has successfully fought off an attempt by his local council to force him to clear up piles of rubbish in his back garden, the Daily Mail has reported.

Mole Valley council had served an order against Richard Wallace, 59, under the Town and Country Planning Act.

Mr Wallace lives in a bungalow and uses a semi-detached house next door for storage.

The front garden contains hundreds of bags of household waste and packaging, the newspaper said, while Mr Wallace has also hoarded bags of tin cans, “an office chair covered with moss”, a pushchair and other items. Six old cars are also visible on the site.

Mr Wallace lost his appeal in the magistrates court, but won in the Crown Court. He claimed it was his “human right” to hoard junk on the two properties.

A senior planning enforcement officer had told the court that there had been no improvement to the site since the service of the enforcement notice. A number of complaints had been received from the parish council, he added.

But Recorder Christopher Purchas QC decided the local authority’s actions were not justified after studying photos of the property.

He ruled: “The evidence does not go far enough to show Mr Wallace in his use of the property interfered with the amenity of other people who live in the locality, and we have come to the conclusion that this order should be dismissed.”

Mr Wallace said he planned to sort out the rubbish eventually but “would not be coerced into it”.

The council told the Daily Mail that it was disappointed with the outcome and would consider whether other action can be taken.