A MAJOR house builder has been fined almost £15,000 for putting up illegal advertising on the East Wichel housing development.

BDW Trading Limited, which trades under the name of Barratt Homes, admitted nine counts of illegal advertising at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The building firm was prosecuted by Swindon Council after 25 advertisements without the required planning consent were identified in July last year.

The council’s planning enforcement team said they had to be removed but, when they were still in place five months later, a formal investigation was launched and a notice was issued under section 225 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for the signs to be removed or destroyed.

The signs were eventually removed in February this year, except for those which the company had applied for retrospective planning permission.

Magistrates fined BDW £1,857 for seven counts of illegal advertising and £1,000 for the two further counts, and ordered it to pay costs of £2,590.

Coun Vera Tomlinson, Swindon Council’s Cabinet Member for a Safer, Stronger Borough said: “This prosecution sends a strong message to all businesses that we will not tolerate illegal advertising in Swindon.

“Advertising on the public highway or on public land requires planning permission and if firms ignore this we will prosecute them.”