A FOUR year legal saga over the ‘Stoulton stink’ has come to a close after council chiefs won an appeal at the High Court in London.
Legal costs were awarded to Wychavon District Council after not guilty verdicts were formally overturned at Worcester Magistrates Court last Wednesday (October 12).
Mr and Mrs Rodenhurst, the owners of Wadborough Park Farm at the time of the offences, had been found not guilty of a total of eight offences by magistrates in December 2015.
The offences were for breaching planning enforcement notices in relation to unauthorised buildings and other structures on land at Wadborough Park Farm.
The buildings and other structures were built without proper consents and contributed to the infamous smell known locally as the ‘Stoulton stink’.
The smell has blighted communities in and around Stoulton since 2012 and was tackled by Wychavon in conjunction with Worcestershire Regulatory Services and the Environment Agency.
The owners of Wadborough Park Farm were issued with abatement orders, as well as planning enforcement notices back in 2012, to stop problems with the smell.
Local residents were instrumental in gathering evidence to support the action.
Following the not guilty verdict, council chiefs went to the High Court to overturn the decision and their appeal was upheld on July 1.
As a result, Worcester magistrates formally registered guilty convictions in relation to all eight offences, four for each defendant, and subsequently set fines totalling £8,000 for failure to comply with enforcement notices.
They were also ordered to pay the council’s costs.
Coun Paul Middlebrough, former leader of Wychavon District Council and local councillor for the area said “This is a great result and we’re very pleased with the outcome.
“The planning enforcement team at Wychavon have worked really hard to protect the village from these awful smells in Stoulton as well the basic flouting of planning regulations.”
“I would also like to personally thank the residents in the village and surrounding areas for their support.
“Their efforts to report problems to us helped us gather vital evidence that have helped get this result.
“We’re hopeful that this sentencing will send a strong message that failure to comply with enforcement action will not be tolerated,” he added.
