A MAN has been fined for failing to comply with a planning enforcement notice relating to the unauthorised siting of a campervan on land in the Yorkshire Dales.

John Stevens, 49, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to the offence at York Magistrates’ Court following his arrest by police on Saturday at the campervan on land at Storrs Common near Ingleton. A warrant had been issued for previous non-attendance at court

Stevens was fined £250 and ordered to pay £750 towards the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s costs, as well as a £30 surcharge.

A spokesman for the YDNPA said the campervan remains on Storrs Common and it is up to Stevens to observe the enforcement notice and move it – or face further legal action.

Robert Heseltine, the YDNPA's champion for development management, said: “John Stevens plonked his caravan in a highly visible and isolated spot outside Ingleton in May 2015 without thought for others, and made no attempt to seek planning permission.

"Unsurprisingly, members of the public complained. We acted on these complaints by taking enforcement action, but not before giving Mr Stevens plenty of time to find alternative accommodation. He repeatedly declined help from Craven District Council housing services.

“When enforcement notices requiring Mr Stevens to remove the caravan were finally issued, in October 2015 and January 2016, he ignored them. We had no option left but to take the issue to the courts."