Developers and builders across Northern Ireland need to be on the alert with news of a threefold fines increase for offences involving listed buildings and trees now law.

The Stormont Department of Environment (DOE) Minister, Alex Attwood, has announced that Magistrates' courts can now impose fines of up to £100,000 for certain offences relating to listed buildings or even protected trees.

Underling the huge increase on the previous figure, the SDLP MLA and Executive Minister, Alex Attwood said: "This sends out a clear message to anyone seeking to ride roughshod over our built and natural heritage, to think again.

"I am committed to protecting our built and natural environment and to effective planning enforcement. In my opinion, the fines that were issued in the past were not a significant deterrent to those who demolished listed buildings and felled trees.

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"They could still pay the fine and make significant profits from building on the ground they had raised," he explained.

"These fines which are now on the statute book will act as a real deterrent to those who flout planning controls.

"They could either put a huge dent in or wipe out any potential financial gain by an unscrupulous developer, demolishing a listed building or felling trees protected by a tree preservation order," he said.

Royal Assent has been given to the DOE's new Planning Bill, enabling this level of fine to go on the statute books.

The higher fines have come about as a result of the DOE's new Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.

By way of example, last year - in February - a property owner and a company were fined a total of £21,000 for demolishing a number of buildings after a Building Preservation Notice had been served.

Keith George Trotter, owner of the Former Market Yard, Main Street, Fivemiletown, pleaded guilty for allowing the demolition of the buildings at his property and was fined £15,000 at Dungannon Magistrates' Court.

The company that carried out the demolition work, McAloon Contracts Ltd, Moneygar Road, Trillick, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty and was fined £6,000.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency served a Building Preservation Notice on the market yard on the 29 February 2008, which afforded temporary protection in a similar manner as if the buildings were listed.

However, when a member of Planning Service returned on the 4 March 2008 to re-inspect the site, the buildings had been demolished.

See: Listed Building's Demolition Leads To Court

(BMcC/GK)