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Caravan site proprietor's inaction over unsafe electrical...
Caravan site proprietor's inaction over unsafe electrical system leads to fine
The repeated failure of a traveller site proprietor to heed warnings and formal notices relating to the dangerous condition of its permanent electrical installation led inevitably to prosecution and a fine lastweek.The proprietor was fined £2,500, with £500 costs at a hearing before Taunton Deane Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to failing to comply with an Improvement Notice requiring the unsafe electrical system at Slough Green Caravan Site, West Hatch, Taunton, to be brought up to a satisfactory standard. Furthermore, he must now bring the electrical system up to standard within a short time scale, failing which he faces a daily penalty.Taunton Deane Borough Council's Principal Environmental Health Officer served the original Notice in January 2003, following which repeated attempts were made to establish whether the electrical system was safe, but the remedial work was not undertaken.
"The proprietor was given every opportunity to sort out the electrical system at this site, but clearly failed to do so. An Improvement Notice is a formal mechanism, by which a business has the opportunity to bring itself into compliance with the law. Ignoring such a notice will usually lead to prosecution and is always likely to be frowned upon by the Courts, especially when the safety of people is put at risk". - The Council's Executive Member for Environmental Services.
