Court Convicts Directors in Brent Highway Obstruction Case

Brent Council successfully prosecuted the directors of Mizen Design Build Ltd for the wilful obstruction of the public highway under s. 137 and 314 of the Highways Act 1980.

The company applied for the appropriate scaffolding and hoarding licenses at the Heron House site on Wembley Hill Road.  The hoarding and scaffolding were placed on the public highway, meaning they required a license.

The licenses were initially issued and later renewed.  In November 2022, it was identified that the licenses had expired without renewal. There were several communications between the Council and the company regarding this issue. As a result of these actions or omissions, there was an unauthorised obstruction of a highway for an extended period. Additionally, the Council experienced a loss of more than £53,000 in license fees.  It was concluded that, considering public safety and legal interests, the Council should address the situation further.

After careful compilation of evidence by the Enforcement Team, Dennis Lewis, (Manager of the Enforcement Team), and Tia Hudson of the Criminal Litigation Team, it was determined that legal action would be taken against the company directors for obstruction of the Highway and compensation would be sought for loss of fees.

A trial took place at Willesden Magistrates Court before the learned District Judge McDonagh, totalling to 8 days. During the course of the trial, Edmund Robb of Prospect Law, counsel for the prosecution outlined the facts of the case including the prominent issue of the monies had been invoiced from their clients, but this had not been passed on for the relevant license renewals.

The defendants stated that due to the company being subject to a Company Voluntary Arrangement and there was no public interest in the prosecution, there was no case to prove against them.  The council argued contrary to this, stating there was a wilful obstruction and there was no lawful excuse for licenses not being in place.

The Judge did not accept any of the arguments put forward by the defendants and accordingly, all of the directors were convicted.

When being sentenced at Willesden Magistrates Court, the District Judge stated that there was a clear obstruction of the highway without having valid licenses in place. In her judgement she declared that there was no lawful excuse for the obstruction, the directors were neglectful in their duties and made a collective decision to not pay the licenses on the assumption that the council would be unlikely to pursue prosecution.