A Cheshire man has been jailed after repeatedly ignoring planning laws and building multiple houses and other outbuildings without permission near Whitchurch.
Michael Merrill, 53, told the court that planning permission laws did not apply to him or his wife, a claim that was completely rejected by the judge.
Despite multiple enforcement notices and a High Court injunction, Merrill continued his unauthorised development, forcing the court to sentence him to prison for 12 months, 12 years after he initially built them.
What were the unauthorised developments?
Merrill, who referred to himself as Adam in court, constructed a dwelling for his family, a second for his in-laws, and several other buildings on open countryside land at Six Acres, Wirswall Road, Wirswall.
He had been served with an enforcement notice back in 2014, requiring the removal of the unauthorised structures.
Merrill claimed he and his family had the right to "live on the land" and that the National Planning Policy Framework and Town and Country Planning Act did not apply to him. The judge firmly rejected this claim.
Court injunctions and contempt proceedings
After failing to comply with enforcement notices, the council obtained a High Court injunction in October 2022, requiring all residential use to cease by July 2024 and demolition of all unauthorised buildings by January 2025.
Merrill ignored the injunction, prompting further contempt proceedings. On 19 May 2025, he was sentenced in his absence to 12 months in prison, with a warrant for his arrest executed on 12 January 2026, when he was taken to Liverpool prison.
In addition, he was ordered to pay Cheshire East Council £16,917 in legal costs.
Council justify seeking prison sentence
Cheshire East Council said Merrill’s imprisonment reflects the seriousness of blatant and prolonged breaches of planning law.
Councillor David Jefferay, chair of the council’s Environment and Communities Committee, acknowledged that prison is an extreme measure and rarely used for planning offences, describing it as “the ultimate sanction which can be handed down by a court in matters concerning unauthorised development.”
He stressed that the council had pursued every other legal avenue, including enforcement notices and a High Court injunction, before the case reached this stage.
Jefferay added: “These are not proceedings the council takes lightly. But where there exists a continuing flagrant breach of planning control, and where a landowner continues to carry out further unauthorised development despite an injunction, there is little option left to us.”
Even while serving his sentence, Merrill remains legally required to comply with the injunction and remove the unauthorised buildings.
The council said the case highlights that planning laws apply to all landowners and that ignoring enforcement notices or court orders can have serious consequences, including imprisonment and financial penalties.
