Colne firm Muj Ansar Properties fined after site of former Hartlepool pub The Hourglass became magnet for fly tippers

Muj Ansar Properties, of Derby Street, in Colne, Lancashire, was prosecuted by Hartlepool Borough Council for breaching a condition attached to the demolition of the Hourglass pub, in Eaglesfield Road, Hartlepool.

After no-one from the company appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court, the case was proven in the firm’s absence and it was ordered to pay a £10,000 fine, £4,000 victim surcharge and £400 costs.

The council says the legal action demonstrates its determination to clampdown on landowners who fail to maintain sites in a good condition.

Councillor Pam Hargreaves, the chair of the authority’s economic growth and regeneration committee and a councillor for the Manor House ward, where the site is located, said: “The Hourglass has been blighting this community for years, way before we forced its demolition.

"We lost count of the number of complaints from Manor residents about vandalism, fly tipping and anti-social behaviour.

"As a ward councillor, I welcome this fine but we won’t stop until the site has been completely cleared.

“I’m sick to death of private developers allowing their derelict land and buildings to damage our town.”

Legal action was launched earlier this year following complaints that the site was attracting anti-social behaviour, fly tipping and rats.

The council has also now served a Building Act notice on the company which requires the demolition waste to be removed within one month.

It includes the power to remove the rubble and bill the firm should it fail to comply.

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