Former tyre king Bob Jane failed to appear at his latest court hearing for hoarding tyres at his Plumpton property.
Earlier this year, Melton council took Jane, 85, to court for storing 10,000 tyres on the property, which falls inside a green wedge zone.
Jane failed to appear at a court hearing in May when he was convicted and fined $10,000 for breaching planning laws and ordered to pay $9433 in council costs. He sought leave to appeal but failed to appear
at a Sunshine Magistrates Court rehearing in
July. When Jane failed to appear at the County Court last week, Judge John Carmody struck out the appeal.
The judge refused to order Jane to pay more than $1000 in council costs for last week’s hearing, but the May decision still stands.
The property has since been acquired by Public Transport Victoria and the tyres have been removed.
A spokesman said the council “made extensive efforts to have Mr Jane remove the tyres but, ultimately, had no choice but to prosecute”. Cr Bob Turner said it was important council took a strong stance on the “misuse of land” in the city.
Sunshine court magistrate Richard Pithouse said the proximity of the tyres to a residential area posed a fire hazard.
This is the latest in a string of blows for Jane, who has had his fair share of court hearings in the past year.
He lost a $3 million lawsuit last year against his estranged son, Rodney, who now owns the Bob Jane empire.
And he was fined $40,000 for contempt of court in June after he refused to stop using the Bob Jane name in rival businesses he had established.
Anyone with information about illegal dumping of rubbish is urged to report it to Melton council on 9747 7200.
