Maidstone Borough Council v Fred King

Facts

The claimant, Maidstone Borough Council, applied to commit the defendant, Fred King, for contempt of court arising from breaches of two injunctions concerning land known as Warren Lands at Sandway, Maidstone, whose lawful use is as an undeveloped agricultural green field adjacent to the Sandway Conservation Area. Title to the site is registered to the administrator of the estate of Sally Irene Town; the defendant, who is not a beneficiary, claimed ownership on the basis of occupation from May 2022, though he has since left the site while remaining in de facto control. An Enforcement Notice issued in 1991, upheld with amendments on appeal, required the caravan and residential use to cease. After council site visits in 2022 revealed clearance works, a further mobile home, a touring caravan and a steel building frame, an Interim Order was made by Jonathan Glasson KC on 13 October 2022 restricting further development and permitting only one static and one touring caravan for the defendant and his dependent family. The defendant's certificate of lawfulness application and two subsequent planning applications were refused, and linked appeals were dismissed by an Inspector on 29 October 2024. A Final Order was made by HHJ Siddique on 16 December 2024, requiring removal of all caravans, vehicles, hardstanding, the steel frame and lighting. Breaches continued, and the contempt application was issued on 17 June 2025; the defendant admitted certain contempts before Tom Little KC on 22 April 2026.