Lagos seals structures for contravening state planning laws

No fewer than 67 commercial and residential buildings, as well as structures in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, have been sealed by officials of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) for contravening the State Physical Planning regulations during a recent enforcement exercise carried out by the Authority.

According to the General Manager, LASPPPA, Mr. Kehinde Osinaike, the affected buildings were sealed for offences bordering on non-compliance to building regulations and conversion of residential buildings into commercial use without the necessary authorisation.

He explained that the enforcement was carried out simultaneously in the Authority’s delineated District Areas of Alimosho, Mosan-Okunola and Agbado Oke-Odo in Alimosho Local Government.

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Osinaike disclosed that LASPPPA had earlier in September 2021 served contravention notices on the affected structures, adding that the notices were not heeded as required, hence the necessity for the operations.

He said: “125 property owners were served contravention notices, through our District Offices, in September. Out of this number, 40 responded with appropriate approved building permits. However, 67 failed to respond. This was what led to two-day targeted enforcement at the Local Government Areas by our Monitoring and Compliance Unit”.

“The sealed property are mostly residential buildings that were converted into commercial use without recourse to necessary permits and regulations. This is at variance with the Alimosho Model city plan”, the General Manager added.

Osinaike, however, stated that some of the affected structures were partially sealed in order to reduce the effect which a complete closure will have on businesses and the daily activities of the occupants.

While noting that the enforcement would be a continuous exercise in the Local Government Areas and other areas of the State, the General Manager averred that the State Government, through LASPPPA and other sister Agencies, is poised to sanitise the built environment and restore the Lagos Physical Planning Master Plan in line with the mandate of the present administration.

He acknowledged that since the enforcement exercise, owners of the affected structures have been approaching the Agency to address the irregularities and perfect their planning permits.

Speaking in the same vein, the Coordinator, Monitoring and Compliance Unit, LASPPPA, Tpl. Olarinde Iyiola, stated that the two-day enforcement exercise was to ensure that the property owners, who have contravened Physical Planning Laws and Regulations, are made to comply with the Operative Development Plan of the Area.

He said that structures in compliance with planning permit approvals and regulations were spared during the exercise.