The owner of a park home estate that has turned into a hazardous building site is “not a fit and proper person”, Buckinghamshire Council has ruled.

An email from the council’s planning chief, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), confirms the council’s decision about Joe Burns, owner of Nook Park in Great Horwood near Milton Keynes.

It reads: “The council determined the Fit and Proper Person application on September 22. The decision was that Mr Burns does not meet the test.”

READ MORE: Mobile homes: Man's £5k payout as garden cut up in Nook Park

The ruling, which Mr Burns has appealed, means the council does not consider him a person able to lawfully own or operate a park home site.

Mr Burns told the LDRS: “With regards to fit and proper person, the ruling has been appealed so we await the outcome of the final decision.

“In the interim the site continues to be managed professionally by the four staff employed to look after the 12 residents living on Nook Park.

“We have not received any complaints in the past five months, since the main infrastructure works were completed.”

READ MORE: Nook Park: Council Leader Martin Tett under fire over mobile homes

Mr Burns began building work to expand Nook Park after taking over the park home estate in 2021 and says the development should be complete in around eight weeks.

The site owner ripped up trees, hedges, footpaths and gardens, prompting safety concerns from some residents.

In 2021, the Government introduced new guidance that all park home site owners must apply to their local authority to be placed on a register of fit and proper persons.

Councillor Mark Winn, Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet Member for Homelessness and Regulatory Services said:

"We have been very much aware of residents’ concerns about activity on site at Nook Park and have dedicated a great deal of time and resource looking into the various complaints that fall under the council’s jurisdiction.

"It has meant we have taken a number of actions including conducting a Fit and Proper Person Test; the outcome of that has now been communicated to both the residents and the site owner."