Council denies victimising Peter Roy

Nov 25 2011 By Iain Howie, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A PERTHSHIRE pensioner says he is prepared to go back to court with the authorities after accusing them of victimising him and his family.

And retired Peter Roy, who lives in a caravan with his 81-year-old wife at Madderty, says he could be forced back into unsanitary living – using oil drums for waste storage – because of council enforcement on a portable toilet he had hired for his home.

He told the PA he is “fighting for his sanity” over the matter, claiming the council has singled him out and acted illegally by pursuing enforcement action against him – something which the council has denied.

The case surrounds the location of a portable toilet near Mr Roy’s property with the council suggesting it should be closer to his caravan and not at a road end away from the family home.

The council took enforcement action warning its location was an unauthorised change of use, although in a letter seen by the PA the council suggested it could be sited closer to his home and still be serviced.

But, the former pig farmer said he felt the action was tantamount to being victimised and ordered the toilet to be taken back to its contractor.

He told us yesterday: “The whole situation is unfair and of stressful to me and my family.

“I didn’t want the contractor to be dragged into this too. It’s not fair on him, so I said take it back.”

He cited that the council’s actions to evict him and his family from a council property had set in train the situation he finds himself in.

“The council wanted us out and ever since have made it hard for us to get on with our lives. That is victimising me and my family,” he said.

Mr Roy (73) added that in the absence of proper toilet facilities he could be forced to use oil drums for waste storage – re-igniting the circumstances which saw him brought to court.

“They (the council) have left me no option. Catherine (his wife) and I are using basins to wash and we’ve been threatened with eviction,” he declared.

“What more do they want?”

A council spokesperson said the authority was seeking, via planning enforcement powers, the relocation of the portable toilet unit used by Mr Roy and others, as planning consent has not been given for its current location.

“This is in addition to the enforcement notice that requires the caravans occupied by Mr Roy and other residents to be moved,” she told the PA.

“The company servicing the toilet unit has given assurances that they will be able to continue accessing it from the new location.

“Perth and Kinross Council has acted in full compliance with the relevant planning legislation.”