Court upholds stay of prosecution for breach of planning enforcement notice (Wokingham Borough Council v Scott and others)

Article summary

Corporate Crime analysis: John McNamara, barrister at 5 St Andrew’s Hill, examines the Court of Appeal’s decision in Wokingham Borough Council v Scott and others to refuse permission for the local planning authority to appeal against a Crown Court decision to stay criminal proceedings against the respondents. The respondents had failed to comply with an enforcement notice which the applicant had issued requiring the cessation of unauthorised use of land. The court held that, when deciding to prosecute, the applicant had failed to comply with its duties under the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code) and might have been influenced by the consideration that it would benefit if the prosecution led to a confiscation order being made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002).