FI16888

Request

  1. The number of complaints received regarding Grove Villa, 28–30 Mill Road, Deal. 
  1. Any enforcement actions considered or taken. 
  1. Any internal correspondence regarding safety concerns at the site over the last 12 months 
  1. Reasons why no formal enforcement action has been taken to date.

Response

  1. Three reports from members of the public enquiring about 28–30 Mill Road were received by in May 2025, June 2025, and January 2026.
  2. Following the installation of tall hoarding around the perimeter of the site, and the boarding of broken windows with wooden panels. It became clear over time that this did not fully alleviate the problem. After further communication with the (then) owners, as well as a site visit with new controllers of the owning company, the actions discussed never completed by the company. This lack of response and action led Dover District Council to take enforcement action, which was issued to the associated owning company(s) in October 2025. Following this, a letter drop was delivered to all residents and neighbours in the immediate areas bordering the site, urging them to report any and all antisocial behaviour (ASB) and intrusion to Kent Police and/or Dover District Council to help monitor the situation further.
  3. This information is attached.  Please note that all personal data has been redacted from the attached document as this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act as the Council.  Personal data is defined by Article 4(1) of GDPR and also Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the release of this data would contravene the data protection principles.  I am aware that some of the personal data that has been redacted from the attached document is data about yourself but requests under the Freedom of Information Act, mean that the Council has to treat any information we release under the legislation as if it were being released to the world at large.   
  4. During the Council’s earlier involvement, consideration was given to enforcement action under Section 29 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 which pertains to the protection of buildings, however this was not taken forward at the time and liaison with the site owners was resurrected in order to provide additional security to the buildings and the site in general. Statutory nuisance legislation under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 was not considered appropriate at the time.  Dover District Council did however take formal enforcement action in October 2025 (Community Protection Warning) on the owners of the land at that time.  Before further enforcement action can take place, the Council must provide the new landowner opportunity to both secure the site, and deter access, before any further enforcement can take place. However, enforcement through Kent Police is currently being investigated alongside partners, as well as the new land owner.

Attachments

Attachment