Agenda item

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report for a Certificate of Lawful Development for the existing use of the site for storage of vehicles, caravans, motorhomes, trailers and machinery (DEV-012-2016/17).

The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) presented a report for a Certificate of Lawful Development for the existing use of the site for storage of vehicles, caravans, motorhomes, trailers and machinery. This application had been considered by Area Planning Sub-Committee East at its meeting on 7 September 2016; the application was refused on the Chairman’s casting vote, but four Members stood to refer the application to this Committee under the Minority Reference rules within the Constitution (Part 4, Rule M2 refers).

The Assistant Director reported that the site was located on the east side of Abridge Road, between the adjacent dwelling ‘Highview’ and Hillcroft Nursery, and had a single access with limited road frontage. The land closest to the road was used for recreational parking of motor homes, caravans and the such like; whilst at the southern end of the site were two buildings, the larger used for storage and the smaller for general vehicle repairs. The wider, surrounding area comprised open fields and the site was within the Metropolitan Green Belt.

The Assistant Director stated that such applications should be determined on a balance of probabilities, and informed the Committee of the legal advice received prior to the meeting in relation to Planning Policy Guidance 17c – Lawful Development Certificates. The evidence provided by aerial photographs, both those supplied by the Applicant and from the Council’s own database, had supported the contention that the relevant areas had been hard surfaced and used for parking and storage at various times during the previous ten years. The Applicant had also granted access for Planning Officers to bookings diaries and bank paying-in books showing that vehicles had been stored at the site since at least 2007. A statement, in the form of a Statutory Declaration, had been submitted by the Applicant stating that he had owned the site since 1995 and had stored vehicles in various locations since.

Planning Officers had concluded that the evidence submitted was generally consistent with records held by the Council, and showed a clear pattern of storage of caravans and other vehicles over an extended period. There was little evidence to contradict that submitted by the Applicant, and it was considered that, on the balance of probabilities, the use was lawful.

The Committee noted the summary of representations, and that no responses had been received from the four neighbours consulted. The Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society referred to previous applications for holiday pitches on the site and argued that the application would breach planning conditions in those applications. Theydon Bois Action Group questioned the evidence submitted to support the application. Theydon Bois Parish Council had objected to the application, arguing that the evidence was not sufficient to justify the grant of a Certificate on the balance of probability.

Some Members felt that the photographs from 2007 showed very few vehicles being stored at the site, and certainly no commercial storage of vehicles had been in operation at that time. Therefore, the evidence did not support the view that the site had been used for ten years to store vehicles, and the application if granted could lead to an intensification of the use of the site. One Member even contended that, according to local information, the caravans marked as storage were actually being lived in.

The Assistant Director confirmed that the Planning Case Officer had visited the site, and the Applicant had provided written confirmation of commercial use of the site. Planning Officers were of the opinion that the photographs from 2007 were not too dissimilar to the current situation. It would be difficult to put a limit on the number of vehicles that could be stored on the site, although the storage of vehicles would be limited to the areas requested as part of the application. The Committee could amend the wording of the Certificate and add restrictions, for example no residential use of the stored caravans to be permitted.

Cllr C C Pond suggested that the Committee could decline to determine the application due to the confusing nature of the evidence, as a refusal would elicit an appeal from the Applicant. The Assistant Director advised the Committee that the Council could face a claim for costs at appeal if the application was not determined.

The Chairman suggested that the wording of the Certificate be amended to permit the site to be used for storage only, with no residential use of the stored caravans to be permitted, and the Committee concurred.

Decision:

(1)        That the Development  at Mossford Green Nursery, Abridge Road in Theydon Bois be considered Lawful, subject to the following conditions:

1.         Having regard to the evidence submitted the Council was satisfied that the existing use of the land for parking and storage of vehicles, caravans, motor homes trailers and machinery had been extant for a period in excess of 10 years and the unit therefore benefited from existing use rights and was immune from any potential enforcement action.

2.         The areas identified were not lawfully to be used for any other purpose than those stated in the application and therefore did not include any residential occupation or overnight stay.