£5K ordered to be paid after failures to comply with Lancaster City Council's planning enforcement

Fines and costs totaling more than £5k have been ordered to be paid for failures to comply with planning enforcement requirements.

The former Yorkshire Taps public house on Parliament Street, Lancaster, owned by Provincial Hotels and Inns Limited, failed to comply with a notice served by Lancaster City Council under Section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

The notice required work to improve the untidy condition of the property, including the clearance of vegetation, window replacement, guttering repairs and remedial works to the building’s elevation.

The owners failed to comply with the notice and were fined £3,000 with a surcharge of £1,200 and costs of £200 at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court on August 25, 2026.

The prosecution followed separate, recent council intervention using powers to remove dangerous guttering and to board up window openings at the property.

On August 18, 2026, Lancaster Magistrates’ Court also heard a case of a failure to respond to a planning contravention notice.

Mr John Pearson of Summerfield Drive, Slyne with Hest, did not respond to the notice which required the submission of details regarding alleged breaches of planning control.

Mr Pearson was fined £600, with a surcharge of £264 and costs of £200.

In both cases, neither defendant attended court.

Councillor Sue Tyldesley, Lancaster City Council's cabinet member for planning, said: “The outcomes in both of these cases illustrate that the City Council will not accept non-compliance with planning enforcement requirements.

“A failure to act responsibly, either by complying with notices that are served or by a failure to co-operate with the council will likely result in formal action being pursued”.
 

Last updated: 26 August 2026