LUCEA, Hanover – The Hanover Parish Council is moving to take action against businesses and individuals who have breached building regulations within the parish.

Alfred Graham, the council’s secretary/manager, recently told JIS News that a significant number of notices were recently served on persons who have breached the building code.

They have, he said, been encouraged to visit the council to have their developments properly approved and he warned that the council would take legal action against those who fail to get the requisite approval within the time specified on the notices. Already, he added, some 13 breaches have been submitted to the council’s lawyer for prosecution in the Resident Magistrate’s Court.

Meanwhile, Graham said that the council had seen a 100 per cent increase in the number of development plans submitted for approval since the start of the year. He said that the number of plans submitted had increased from between seven and eight per month to 15 and 16, resulting in increased revenue for the council. In January, for example, the council earned $400,000, compared to the roughly $250,000 earned each month last year; and in February the earnings were a record $800,000, he said.

According to Graham, the council’s drive to rid the parish of illegal developers would continue, since such individuals not only cause the haphazard development of the parish but also deprive the council of revenue.