Businessman must pay more than £30,000 for planning breaches at a Hebburn ‘takeaway’

Majid Faek has been operating Santano Burger Bar, on Victoria Road East, in Hebburn, without planning permission and had ignored orders to cease trading as a takeaway since 2023.

South Tyneside Council issued him with a planning enforcement notice in December 2023 but he failed to cooperate, repeatedly telling planning officers that the venue was an eat-in establishment.

Despite his claims, Faek was caught out with a surveillance operation and taken to court for breaching the enforcement notice.

He pleaded guilty and was fined £17,708 by magistrates in South Tyneside.

Faek was also ordered to pay £5,365 in costs to South Tyneside Council and a victim surcharge of £7,080.

The local authority has also recently brought prosecution against a second resident who fell foul of planning regulations.

David Jeffels pleaded guilty to breaching a Tree Preservation Order after he hired a tree surgeon to take branches off four protected trees at his home in West Boldon last November.

He was fined £313 and ordered to pay £525 in costs, as well as a £125 victim surcharge.

Cllr Margaret Meling, Lead Member for Economic Growth and Transport, has highlighted why planning regulations are in place.

She said: “Planning rules are there for a reason — to protect people, places, and the environment.

“When someone chooses to ignore them, it’s not just a technicality.

“We won’t hesitate to take action against those who breach the rules, as these cases have demonstrated.”

Read South Tyneside’s latest news and sport on the go with the Gazette’s email newsletters - click here

South Tyneside Council also brought Paul McKay to court for breaching a Community Protection Warning in relation to cleaning up a shared back yard at Milton Street, in South Shields.

Council officers had visited the property on numerous occasions following complaints from residents about an accumulation of waste including rubble, furniture and dog poo.

McKay failed to cooperate with requests to clean it up, therefore being made subject of a Community Protection Warning and then a Community Protection Notice, which he did not comply with.

He was convicted in his absence and told to pay a total of £1,194 in fines and costs and ordered to clear the yard within 14 days.

Have you got a story you want to share with our readers? You can now send it to us online via YourWorld at https://www.yourworld.net/submit/.

It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.