Brother and sister ordered to remove fence in Chesham after neighbourhood dispute
A brother and sister have again been ordered to tear down a fence that was put up without permission in Chesham.
Syed Mubarak Ahmed and Urusa Ahmed have been issued with a new enforcement notice for unauthorised work carried out north of Pednor Road, Chesham.
A stop notice was issued on the land, previously planned to house a kimchi farm, in November last year after engineering works took place including the laying of material and the continued erection of fencing.
But now the owners have been told they must comply with the council’s wishes or face prosecution.
Residents were previously left furious when fencing was first put in place around a patch of woodland in July 2021.
In the latest notice, the council instructs the pair to remove all structures and buildings, all pallet and poultry fencing, and all gates and pallets from the area outlined in the enforcement order.
They must also clear the land of plastic sheeting, cable reels, wires, pipes, wood, animal feed, buckets, tarpaulin, hay, scrap materials, cardboard, metal, tools, building materials, tents, a pool, vehicles, CCTV cameras, wooden posts, barrels, signs and warning notices.
The notice was issued on November 20 and comes into effect on January 1, giving them two months from that date to comply.
If the order is not complied with, the pair could face fines or even prosecution unless they can successfully appeal the decision to the Secretary of State.
A retrospective planning application was made by the landowners in July 2024, describing the fence as necessary to prevent “trespassing and vandalism” in the area.
Urusa Ahmed, the sister of the landowner, previously told the LDRS that she is using the fenced-off land to help ‘underprivileged girls’ learn new skills.
She claimed she did not put up the fence and had nothing to do with her brother’s plans.
In the agenda of a Chesham Town Council planning meeting, the enforcement notice was listed as ongoing.
Councillor Peter Strachan said: “Buckinghamshire Council is aware of additional fencing and other unauthorised development taking place at this site and is in the process of assessing what action to take.
“Formal enforcement action has already been taken and any breach of this is taken extremely seriously. We continue to seek full compliance with the requirements to remove this harmful development.”
Councillor Jane MacBean previously said: “There is very strong feeling amongst the community and the council, this is highly inappropriate. Residents are actually really angry now.”