Cases - R v Wicks (Peter Edward)
Record details
- Name
- R v Wicks (Peter Edward)
- Date
- [1997]
- Citation
- 2 PLR 97
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Planning control - Town and Country Planning Act 1990
- Summary
-
The defendant was prosecuted for failing to comply with an enforcement notice. In his defence he sought to challenge the validity of the notice on the basis that the council had acted in bad faith, had been motivated by immaterial considerations and had not genuinely considered whether service of the notice was 'expedient' as required by the 1990 Act.
The House of Lords held that the validity of an enforcement notice which is formally valid and which has not been quashed cannot be challenged by way of a defence to a criminal prosecution. Issues which may be raised by way of judicial review are not suitable for lay justices. Furthermore there has been a consistent statutory policy of restricting the issues that a person prosecuted for non-compliance can raise, so that challenges can be dealt with quickly and enforcement can be effective.