THE owner of a timber cabin home built without planning permission in a village near York has been given six months to demolish it.

Lena Banks has lost an appeal against enforcement notices issued by Ryedale District Council for the removal of the two bedroom property on land off Cornborough Road, just outside Sheriff Hutton.

Council solicitor Anthony Winship said an inspector had upheld the notices, with some amendments, in a decision letter dated March 5 and the owner had six months from that date to comply, and it would be a criminal offence not to do so.

“The council may therefore instigate legal proceedings if there is a failure to comply with the enforcement notices,” he said.

“Once the six months compliance period for each enforcement notice has expired, the enforcement officers for the council will undertake a site inspection to determine if there has been compliance.”

If there was evidence of a failure to comply, the council’s legal unit would determine whether or not a prosecution should proceed.

“No prosecution will go ahead unless the prosecutor finds there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, and decides that prosecution would be in the public interest,” he said.

He added that the penalty for a breach was a maximum fine of £20,000 if tried before magistrates and the council would also have powers to make arrangements for the removal of the building and charging the owner for the costs.

The Press reported early last year how Ms Banks had applied for retrospective permission for the home. Town planning consultant Marc Willis said then that she was setting up a business breeding falabellas – miniature horses – there and it was essential for her to be able to live on site to deal with foaling and also for security reasons.

He said that to receive planning permission, she needed to establish her home was needed for a viable agricultural business, but she could not set up the business without already living on site.

This explained why she had built the home and then applied for permission afterwards, he said. However, a neighbour said the field was in the green belt and permission should be refused.

Ms Banks was unavailable for comment this week and Mr Willis declined to comment.