Simeon Muir conducts a successful appeal against a Community Protection Notice
After a two-day contested hearing, Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court upheld the Appellant’s appeal against a Community Protection Notice (“CPN”) issued by Buckinghamshire Council. The Court also took the unusual step of awarding the Appellant her legal fees in full, to be paid by the Council issuing the Notice.
Section 43 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides that a local council may issue a community protection notice to an individual if satisfied on reasonable grounds that:
(a) the conduct of the individual or body is having a detrimental effect, of a persistent or continuing nature, on the quality of life of those in the locality, and
(b) the conduct is unreasonable.
The individual may appeal the Notice within 21 days if the conduct specified in the community protection notice:
(a) did not take place,
(b) has not had a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality,
(c) has not been of a persistent or continuing nature,
(d) is not unreasonable, or
(e) is conduct that the person cannot reasonably be expected to control or affect.
In this case, the Council issued the CPN on the grounds that the Appellant had run her lawnmower in the garden for prolonged periods while unattended, played music at excessively loud levels and made offensive comments to her neighbour. During the Appeal, the Appellant established on the balance of probabilities that the conduct alleged did not take place.
Significantly, the Court also found that the Council had not acted reasonably in issuing the notice and on this basis the Appellant was successful in arguing that the Court should award her costs in full.
