There’s been an application to give planning permission for the unauthorised caravans at the Pumping Station in Watery Lane, Rawreth.
This weekend the planning officers are recommending refusal – it will be refused unless any councillor calls it in by 1 pm on Wednesday.
You can find the officers report on this document, starting on page 31. These are the reasons for refusal:
This part of the report explains why the applicants would be given 6 months to comply with an enforcement notice:
This part explains why County Highways are opposing the application:
If they are unauthorised they should not be there in the first place, forget applying for planning permission…although 6 months grace ….. Watery Lane will have flooded during the winter rains [EDITED]
How come the Council extend special consideration to some but completely ignore the vast majority ( e.g.: consultation input / objections / petitions …..?).
Jim, simples, we live in a country where no minority group can be called to account or critised. Anybody doing so is immediately accused of being racist and hauled before the courts or vilified by Guardian reading do goody liberal lefty mung bean munchers.
As for being given six months grace because of the baby due – I don’t think this is anything exceptional; there are hundreds of other planning enforcement cases in our district , and I imagine that most of those take 6 months or more to be sorted out.
This country should introduce the same law as did the Republic of Ireland…make trespassing a criminal offence. Our police could then arrest people who decide they want to illegally occupy land that does not belong to them. It’s not a problem when do goody lefty luvvies turn up to defend them, simply ask the “travellers” to camp out in their Islington back garden……
To keep the record straight and the facts clear, my understanding in this case is that the applicants are not trespassing, but they don’t have planning permission.