Unlicensed hoarding lands business with £40,000 fine

Unlicensed hoarding in Gloucester Place has landed the owners of a Hounslow company with fines of £40,000.

Mark and Elizabeth James, of Henry Construction Ltd, were each fined £20,000 by Brighton Magistrates, after failing to renew the licence for hoarding outside the new Rox Development in Gloucester Place.

The pair, who failed to appear at court, were also each ordered to pay £250 costs and £72 victim surcharge.

Three written warnings

The court heard that a licence for the hoarding had originally been granted by Brighton & Hove City Council, but this had expired in April 2021.

During Covid, council officers initially held back from taking enforcement action to help support businesses but when, after three written warnings, the unlicensed hoarding was still in place in January 2022, legal proceedings began.

Warning to others

Councillor Steve Davis, co-chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee said: “I hope this serves as a warning to others that we won’t tolerate this kind of behaviour.

“Illegally placed hoardings can be very dangerous. We will treat any threat to public safety extremely seriously and seek prosecution where we feel people are being put in danger."

As part of the Highways Act 1980 all companies, contractors and householders who want to put objects on the public highway need to obtain a licence from the council.