30 January 2024: Grounds of Appeal by Orchard Herbs:
These are the grounds of appeal against enforcement notice ES/23/0043 I /COU issued 29th November 2023 and due to take effect on I st January 2024 (‘the EN’). The EN was issued by Buckinghamshire Council (‘the LPA’). The EN relates to land relating to land to the west of Lake End Road, Dorney, Buckinghamshire SL4 6QS (‘the Land’).
2. The EN requires correction, and there are legal points in addition to the grounds of appeal pursuant to s 174(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (‘TCPA’).
3. The grounds of appeal under s 174(2) are grounds E, B, C, D, A, and G
Grounds of appeal to EN 27JAN24
20 January 2024: Appeal against Orchard Herbs Enforcement.
There has been an appeal against the Enforcement Notice issued by Bucks Council. We need your help to ensure the Enforcement Notice is held up by writing or emailing the Planning Inspectorate with your comments. You can either email TeamE5@planninginspectorate.gov.uk or write to the following address, Rebecca Gray, The Planning Inspectorate, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square. Bristol BS1 6PN quoting reference APP/N0410/C/23/3336002. Comments have to be submitted by the 28th of February 2024.
19 January 2024: Bucks Council letter advising of appeal
1 January 2024: Email from Cllr. Robert Stopford to Bucks Council Enforcement Officer
During the Christmas period the it has been busy at Orchard Herbs, with more Construction going on in the area to the east of the site, next to Lake End Road, which the Highways England had used, then became a Park and Ride and latterly a vehicle storage site. The vehicles have now been moved off and some concrete pads have been laid and Iron Girders fencing with railways sleepers constructed for storage bins. Below are some photographs
The above photographs (taken on 24th and 31st December) show a concrete slab has been laid over the holiday period and wooden sleepers installed between the iron girders post.
I believe the height of the Scaffolding storage site has been increased (ref Item 9 on your certificate of Service document)
In addition, beyond the scaffolding site there has been installed another concrete pad, with what looks like foundations for a structure. Possibly to move one of the current operations location?
To add to this the work was carried out over the Christmas period on Bank Holidays and sometimes in the evening after dark , which impacted us with the noise.
It seems to me that Orchard Herbs is basically ignoring the enforcement notice, or deliberately moving the locations of some of their existing commercial operations to avoid the Enforcement Notice. Could you issue a Stop Notice?
23 November 2023: Bucks Council issues Enforcement Notice ES/23/00431/COU
This covers all alleged illegal activities on the site, effective 1 January 2024. Site to be cleared by 30 June 2024.
21 November 2023: Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 118.1 The Orchard Herbs Site
Cllr. Stopford reported that the Enforcement Notice is still expected by the end of November. The appeal for the hotel application could possible be ongoing to the middle of 2024.
11 September 2023: Email from Dorney Parish Clerk to Bucks Council
Thank you for your email of the 25th of August. As you can imagine we are extremely disappointed with what seems to be yet another delay in taking formal action on this site and the tone of your advice gives rise to Dorney Parish Council questioning when, and indeed if, Bucks Council have any intention or desire to produce an injunction for these illegal businesses. Your email of the 1st of August set out the expectation that effective action was finally going to happen to eliminate the daily noise, dust and disruption caused to our residents by the Ready-Mix Concrete operations, scaffolding business and skip hire. Furthermore it gave hope that the total eye sore of the second-hand truck and parts business, located in this rural environment, had moved to an end game – sadly this now seems not to be so.
The advice you have received seems in contrast to 5.1 Section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act (“the 1990 Act”) (inserted by section 3 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”)) which enables the LPA where they consider it expedient for any actual or apprehended breach of planning control to be restrained, to apply to the High Court or County Court for an injunction. An application can be made whether or not the LPA have exercised, or propose to exercise, any of their other powers to enforce planning control.” As the storage of non agriculture vehicles is in clear breach of the existing enforcement notice, which last year the Council was forcing the land owner to move, with some success. Can you please explain to us why the use of an injunction for this breach of an enforcement notice was not considered.
In relation to these matters we have the following questions,
- DPC request sight of the legal advice given by your external barristers.
- The existing enforcement notices (those closed by Bucks and the current open one) clearly cover the limitation on storage of non-agriculture vehicles. Could you explain why these couldn’t be used to clear the site, irrespective of the other ongoing businesses?. Last year this was happening under the weekly inspection by the council. We would appreciate knowing why a new enforcement notice is required to clear the site, when the old one seemed to work well.
Secondly following on from the email sent by Robert Stopford on the 17th of August please address and answer the following unanswered questions:
- We do appreciate the Stop Notice EN/18/2279 the council issued last year to close down the airport car parking operation, but would like to understand the reasoning why the council chose not to issue a Stop Notice for the Ready Mix Concrete operation at this time, for an illegal business which had been running for over a year on site and the scaffolding business which has started on site in the last 3 months along with a second Ready Mix Concrete site which can clearly be seen from the M4. Why can a Stop Notice not be issued for this operation? We understand such Notice only operates for 28days however it would seem this action would at least have the effect of indicating that the Council are taking action which in the long term could be more permanent.
- Finally, please update us of the situation in regard to the appeal by Orchard Herbs for the certificate of lawfulness PL/20/3452/EU
We welcome the offer to meet to discuss these matters further, in Dorney, and will come back to you with some dates.
25 August 2023: Email from Bucks Council to Dorney Parish Clerk
Further to our previous correspondence and in response to your email below, I write to provide an update on the current situation in relation to the continued breaches of planning control occurring at Orchard Herbs, and to answer the outstanding questions you have raised.
In regard to the overall update, may I apologise for the amount of time that it has taken for us to be able to provide this reply. The reason for this delay has been due to the time required to seek and receive legal advice on the matters going on at this complex site.
In the past few weeks we have sought Counsel legal advice from 2 separate barristers about how to take this site forward. Unfortunately, both of those opinions were that applications to the High Court for a mandatory injunction was unlikely to be successful and that there is insufficient evidence to support a prohibitory injunction. There are also concerns raised as to if there any breaches of the enforcement notices currently taking place on the site. Our view is that this is mainly because the manner in which the site is currently being used has materially changed since the time that the notices were originally issued and therefore the activity occurring on site is outside the scope of the enforcement notices.
Given the complexities of this site, as a Council, we need to make sure our case going forward is legally sound, and that any actions we take are justified and proportionate. We are therefore currently preparing a new planning enforcement notice which we propose will address all the activities occurring at the site. Due to the complex nature of this site, officers will be seeking legal advice on the enforcement notice prior to serving and therefore we anticipate issuing a new notice in the next 6-8 weeks.
There is, of course, the likelihood of the owner lodging an appeal against the enforcement notice and this will again take time to be determined. In the meantime we will advise you accordingly when the new notice is issued and send a copy to the Parish Council and the Local Ward members as per our standard protocol.
In the meantime and in answer to your previous questions…
- All enforcement notices are available to view on our Enforcement Register, which is held on Public Access. If you search under Orchard Herbs, the Enforcement Notice and relevant cases should be visible. Only documentation forming part of the formal notice are available for public viewing. Other documentation will not be available to view.
- Part of the difficulty in enforcing matters on this site, is due to the continual changes that occur, including the erection of new operational developments, and uses that are introduced, and intensified. To be valid, an enforcement notice must detail all the breaches occurring at the site on the day of service. Given the continual changes, this is proving very difficult for us to nail down the unauthorised developments. As set out above however, we are seeking advice on how to address these evolving issues and how we set them out in the new enforcement notice to ensure that we can finally regain control of the site.
- Please see above and particularly the update at the top of this email
- Injunction Orders are granted by the High Court and therefore the bar to get an Order granted is much higher than when we serve enforcement notices. We cannot simply just seek an Order to cover the existing breaches of planning control, without clear justification and reasoning. Uses changing on site is not enough justification. In addition, Injunctions will not be granted on anticipated breaches, unless we can indicate what those breaches are likely to be, and what evidence we have to substantiate our claims. You will see from my update above that our 2x legal advice advise that the injunction route io unlikely to be successful.
- As provided in the update above, following the receipt of legal advice we are preparing new notice to be issued and seek to ensure that those notices are suitably worded to cover the manner in which the site sis being used.
- Please see above. Now that we are in receipt of the legal advice and have a direction of travel we would be happy to arrange a meeting so officers can discuss the avenue of projection with you. Due to annual leave this ill not be able to happen until after 7thSeptember. Perhaps you can propose a number of dates and we will be able to meet your request to meet.
- I hope that I have suitably set out the Councils position on this site and fully explained the legal complexities accordingly. Failing which I will be happy to discuss this in more detail when we meet.
I hope that this information is of assistance.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 18 July 2023. 86.1
Darran Eggleton responded to our email for an update on the site on 28th June: Further to our previous correspondence I write to advise that we have now received legal advice in relation to this matter. We will now be acting upon that advice and taking action accordingly. I hope you are able to understand that for operational reasons, I can’t go into any detail about what that action is, but I can provide assurance that we have a direct of travel and we are pursuing it. We will be able to tell you more once we have clarified a few other points and once the relevant action has been instigated. In the meantime thank you for the images below and I write to advise that we are pulling together response to the question you raise below. Our priority at the moment is acting on the legal advice but we will pick up the answer to your questions with you in the coming weeks. Kind regards, Darran Eggleton Head of Planning Policy and Compliance
It was agreed that the Clerk will chase for the latest update.
Cllr. Dax confirmed that a response was received from the Chief Fire Officer regarding the fires on site however this was not very useful as the specifics were not recorded however this has been forwarded to Bucks to log.
Correspondence regarding the Hotel Planning Application appeal
Orchard Herbs Hotel Planning Application Email June 2023
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 20 June 2023. 71.1
Email 23rd June Darran Eggleton – Bucks
It was agreed that it is critical that the Parish Council continue to push for the closure of the site. Cllr. Stopford reported that he has made contact with Stephanie Penney – Bucks Enforcement however no response has been received as yet.
It was agreed that the Council will submit an official response to Darran Eggleton’s email of May 23rd including up to date site photos, information on the fires on site and the new concrete mix business – we will request support from Taplow and Burnham Parish Council’s. There was a hotel planning appeal site visit today, we will await the report from the inspector. MP Joy Morrissey has written to the Secretary of State, Michael Gove and Minister of State, Rachel Maclean raising her objections to the planning application and appeal. The Certificate of Lawfulness is still being processed, there is no update.
Cllr. Dax is speaking with the Fire Service to get their official report on the latest fires that they attended, this will continue to be pursued. These have been flagged to the Environmental Health Department of the Council.
Letter To Rachel Shimmin CEO Buckinghamshire Council
Letter to Rachael Shimmin May 23
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 16 May 2023. 60.1
Continuous efforts are being made from Dorney Parish Council and County Cllr. George Sandy with the support of Taplow and Burnham Parish Councils. Dorney Parish Council received a response from Joy Morrisey confirming that the hotel appeal is being taken to the Secretary of State for review.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 18 April 2023. 44.1
Cllr. Stopford updated on the two main points linked with Orchard Herbs, the Enforcement Notice and hotel appeal.
Cllr. Stopford received a letter from Peter Strachan (Buckinghamshire Council) apologising for the delay in response to the Enforcement Notice questions sent.
It was agreed to write to the CEO of Buckinghamshire, Rachael Shimmin, to fully explain all points related to the enforcement and ask for support from Taplow and Burnham Parish Councils.
The hotel development appeal has been ‘called in’ by the Secretary of State. It was agreed to write to Joy Morrissey with our concerns over the size and scale of the out of town plans on greenbelt land and question why the appeal is allowed to go ahead. It was agreed to ask for support from Burnham, Taplow and Eton councils
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 21 March 2023. 33.1
It was agreed that the Council will keep Peter Bowman informed of updates as and when we receive for inclusion in the Dorney Parish News as appropriate.
Following the response from Joy Morrissey, Cllr. Stopford has asked for clarification on some points and will report back. It was agreed that we will await the response from Buckinghamshire County Council before submitting any further comments.
The planning application for the hotel on the site is being appealed with a 29th March deadline. It was confirmed that everything previously submitted will form part of the appeal proceedings.
There is no update on the Certificate of Lawfulness.
The Chair and Councillors thanked Cllr. Stopford for all his efforts on this issue.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 21 February 2023. 19.1
Cllr. Stopford confirmed that Mitchel Pugh from Buckinghamshire Council who was dealing with the Enforcement has now left and he has made initial contact with his replacement.
It was agreed that following the response from MP Joy Morrissey to Peter Bowman, Cllr. Stopford will contact the MP to arrange to meet and discuss the site and the Buckinghamshire Council responses.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 17 January 2023. 05.1
County Cllr. Sandy has written to County Council regarding the lack of progress on clearing the site considering similar problem sites in the north of the county have been successfully dealt with very recently.
It was agreed that the Parish Council will also write to County to express concerns and disappointment that we are still in the same position with the site. It was also noted that Burnham Parish Council have written in the same vein.
It was agreed that Cllr. Dax will communicate with Taplow Parish Council to ask for their support due to their close proximity.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 18 October 2022. 101.1
The applicants of the hotel development have 6 months to appeal the decision which expires in mid-December.
Mitchel Pugh (Planning Enforcement, Buckinghamshire CC) is still putting together the paperwork for further legal action against the site.
The Certificate of Lawfulness is going to the court of appeal however there is no date set for this as yet. It was agreed that Cllr. Stopford will attend.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 21 June 2022. 74.1
Planning permission for the hotel development has been refused. Cllr. Dax offered her appreciation for the robust objection letters submitted by Dorney Parish Council and Eton Town Council.
Buckinghamshire Planning are still working on the Certificate of Lawfulness.
Mitchel Pugh, Buckinghamshire Enforcement, visited the site last week to inform the concrete and car storage businesses that they are operating illegally. It was noted that these are creating a noise disturbance to the local community.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 26 April 2022 . 44.1
Cllr. Stopford reported that Mitchel Pugh, Enforcement Officer is aware of the new concrete mixing business on the site and he does not believe it is lawful in line with the inspector’s comments, he will be seeking to remedy the issue at the earliest opportunity. Cllr. Stopford attended the Burnham Parish Council Planning meeting, they will be submitting their own objections on the site.
There is currently no update on the Enforcement Notice or hotel plan.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 8 March 2022 . 30.1
Cllr. Stopford reported that Mitchell Pugh visited the site in February and was not satisfied, finding little to no progress on the clearance. The Council are now looking to take legal action on the matter.
There is currently no update on the Certificate of Lawfulness.
Liz Ashton confirmed to Cllr. Stopford that following the report that Highways were not in agreement with the hotel planning application, the applicant has since objected.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 19 October 2021. 45.1
Cllr. Stopford updated on the clearance of the site and the hotel plans. It was agreed that the Clerk will respond to Mitchel Pugh to express the Council’s disappointment of the delays following his latest update email.
Historic England have responded and stated they do not think the hotel development will impact on St James’s or Dorney Court however the planning decision is on hold, still awaiting a response from Transport for Bucks.
Dorney Parish Council Meeting Minutes: 21 September 2021. 30.4.
Planning Officer, Liz Ashton is awaiting a response from Highways Bucks and Historic England over her concerns.
Weekly visits are taking place regarding the enforcement notice and although slow, it has been noticed that a significant number of vehicles have gone. The Clerk will ask for an update from County Cllr. Sandy.
There is no current progress on the Certificate of Lawfulness. It was agreed The Clerk will write to Kirstie Elliot from the Parish Council stating our objections.
25 August 2021: The Orchard Herbs Site Situation – an Update
There are three ongoing issues with the Orchard Herbs site. The current situation is as follows:
Orchard Herbs Enforcement Notice for removal of vehicles
There has been a noticeable reduction in the number of vehicles on site. The latest email from the planning officer handling the enforcement reported:
I was at the site on Wednesday morning (11th Aug) and can confirm that more vehicles have gone out (primarily cars that were located in the south-west corner, so could not be readily seen from the road). I am being given written lists of what has been removed at each visit and when walking around the site I can see the gaps that have been left. Most of the vehicles that remain are those which won’t start and require more arrangements to be made to get them moved within and then off the site (i.e. they need other vehicles to get them physically moved) – this is one of the reasons why things have slowed down a bit, it is the trickier vehicles that are left. I know I am repeating myself so apologies for that, but it is only when you are actually on the site you can appreciate the volume of what has been removed. I realise that we have gone past the timings that were agreed for total clearance but please be assured that my colleague and I are continuing with the regular visits (I am on leave for the next two weeks, so my colleague is doing the visits in my absence). The owners are aware that if they do not deliver what they have promised there will be consequences, so we are keen to continue with the encouragement of clearance to keep the focus on this.
Planning Application PL/20/2020/0A hotel, Office Blocks and two storey car park.
The planning department has received feedback from the Environment agency, Lead Local Flood authority and the Bucks County Conservation team all recommending refusal of planning permission. The case officer is waiting for a response from Buckinghamshire Highways department and Historic England. The latest email received this week said:
I just thought I would send you a quick update to say that I have now received comments from the Conservation Team who have raised concerns with the proposed development on heritage assets. Their comments should be available to view on the Council’s website in the next few days.
They have also requested that Historic England are consulted on the application to enable them to consider whether there is any possible impact on St James the Less, Dorney and Windsor Castle. Historic England have been consulted and a response is anticipated by around 9th September.
So far, the applicant’s response to the feedback from the EA, and LLFA has been to say they are only asking for outline planning permission, and they will sort out all these objections after permission has been granted
PL/20/3452/EU | Certificate of Lawfulness
This is still ongoing, and no decision has been made. It is being handled by the same case officer who is supervising the enforcement notice and I believe will only be looked at when there has been sufficient progress in removal of the vehicles and containers.
Robert Stopford, Dorney Parish Council
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Dorney Parish Council Meeting 20 July 2021: Item 4.4 The Orchard Herbs Site
Report from Cllr. Robert Stopford:
There are three on going issues at Orchard Herbs site.
Enforcement Notice
I received the following from Tabish Wazir Deputy Parish Clerk Burnham:
From: Kirstie Elliot Sent: 09 July 2021 15:49 To: ‘Tabish Wazir’
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] RE: Orchard Herbs (ref: EN/18/2279)
Hi Tabish,
Thanks for your email.
Yes, I have had a number of queries this week regarding the clearance of the site. I appreciate that from the roadside the site still looks full of lorries but they are going. Prior to the contractor being appointed there were approximately 300 vehicles/vehicle parts/containers on the site and they are now at approximately 170. It was almost impossible to move around the site (even on foot) to view everything but now there are clear pathways through and vehicles can also get through to tow. They are clearing the site west to east so as gaps appear they are bringing everything closer to the road but I appreciate that this makes the site look more cluttered at the most visible points to the public at large (and also blocks the view of the cleared areas to the rear). I confirm that they are ripping the soil as the site is cleared. I confirm that I am visiting the site every week and logging what has been removed. That said, I am not satisfied with the levels of clearance made to date and will be making this clear to the owners. I hope that in the next 4 weeks there will be a more noticeable change to the appearance of the site.
I hope this is of assistance.
Kind regards,
Kirstie Elliot
Principal Planning Enforcement Officer
Planning, Growth and Sustainability Directorate
Buckinghamshire Council
For your information I did contact a resident of Ashford Lane, who did confirm that there appears to be a reduction in the number of lorries on site from their viewpoint.
PL/20/3452/EU | Certificate of Lawfulness for existing use as a builder’s yard and storage of commercial vehicles, equipment and building materials.
Update from Kirstie Elliot on the 7th of July to George Sandy
This application does still remain under assessment and covers the land which is currently occupied by Highways England/Balfour Beatty. The land the subject of the application is not being used in breach of planning control (as per the remainder of the site) and at this stage I anticipate a decision being made on the application at around the same time as the works to clear the rest of the site are concluded.
Planning Application PL/20/2020/OA Outline permission for re-development of existing partial brownfield site into renewable energy park with high-capacity battery storage, 416 bedroom hotel, two office units, two storey carpark etc.
Elizabeth Aston a Planning Office is dealing with this application. I had an email from her on the 8th of July and a phone call on the 12th of July. She made the following comments in her email.
As you mentioned in your e-mail below, further objections to this application have been received from the EA and SuDS. I had hoped that following the receipt of these comments I would be in a position to move forward with the determination of the application. However, following the publication of these comments on the Council’s website, the applicant has contacted both the EA and SuDS team directly to provide them with further information. To avoid any concerns being raised by the applicant that the consultees did not properly consider information submitted, these bodies may want to respond to the further information submitted, although I acknowledge that the continued submission of additional information to consultees, particularly directly to consultees, is frustrating the ability of the Council to move forward with making a decision on this application.
I note that in your e-mail to Cllr Sandy you have also commented on the comments made by the Council’s Landscape Officer back in September last year. As there have been no changes to the proposal which would require the re-consultation of the Landscape Officer, it would not be appropriate to ask him to add to/revise his current comments. However, in respect of the comments you have made about openness of the Green Belt, this is something that I as the case officer will consider and reach a conclusion on, taking into account also the planning history of the site and its surroundings.
In relation to the impact of the development on the adjacent Conservation Area and the setting of nearby listed buildings, I have already requested comments from the Council’s Conservation Team on this and I hope to be in receipt of their comments shortly.
I hope you can appreciate that with a development of this scale, there are a large number of considerations which are relevant to the determination of the application. Ensuring that all these matters have been properly considered can be time consuming, especially when the applicant keeps submitting further information. I want to proceed with a decision on the application as quickly as possible, but this also needs to be balanced against ensuring that the applicant doesn’t allege that we have acted unreasonably in dealing with the application i.e. not properly considering information submitted, particularly if the applicant were to lodge an appeal against any decision the Council might make.
8 July 2021: Letter from Dorney Parish Council to Bucks Council Planning regarding Orchard Herbs.
We write further to our earlier objection letters dated 28th August 2020 and would like you to consider this supplemental objection in your determination of this planning application. It remains unclear if the Council is minded refusing this application. We have taken legal advice in respect of the application and this includes a review of the up to date responses from statutory consultees and the new information submitted by the applicant in May. For the reasons set out below, it is considered that any grant of planning permission would be unlawful and susceptible to judicial review. Read complete letter by clicking this link.
15 June 2021: Dorney Parish Council Meeting: Cllr. Stopford reported three issues. The Certificate of Lawfulness, the planning permission for a hotel and park and the enforcement issue. On enforcement he noted that Bucks Council were half-way through an effort to clear vehicles from the site. What was unclear was whether the site would be returned to its former state. County Cllr. Sandy noted that a complicating factor might be if Bucks Council’s Strategic Sites Committee took an interest in the site.
January 2021: Orchard Herbs have put in a planning application for Certificate of Lawfulness for their current use of the site as a builder’s yard and storage unit, application reference PL/20/3452/EU:
The following is on the information sheet provided by the Planning Enforcement Officer who attended the January Council meeting. This includes information on the Enforcement Notice that has been served:
Current enforcement position:
Officers have determined that the current use of the land is contrary to an extant enforcement notice issued by the SBDC in June 2007 and upheld by a planning inspector at a re-determined appeal in April 2010.
Officers served letters of notice to quit the site on the owners providing them with 28 days to cease the current use. This deadline expires on 01 Feb 2021, a site visit will conducted shortly after this date. Owners have been advised that failure to comply with this request will result in the Council taking further legal action (breach of an enforcement notice is an offence)
Dorney Parish Council objected to the application.
The Parish Council’s objections are as follows:
- The application area is the surface of the new road constructed by Highways England along Lake End Road.
- The statement appears to be for a claim for Advers Possession, rather than evidence submitted to support the application.
- The application form states that Chris Ball is the owner, which he cannot be as he is applying to be the owner (Possessory Title)
The site plan (note that the plan is for the hotel development) does not accord to page 1 of the statement exhibit. - The evidence cannot be correct because the land was originally an embankment at 45 degrees, so no vehicle could drive or park there.
- The only way that land could be used would be when the imported spoil was so high that the ground would be level. Even then, the vehicles etc would need to drive up to the level of the road. No evidence has been submitted to show where vehicles were parked. No photographs, or annotated plans.
- Considering point 5 above, the use of the land would have to be the long-term storage of materials (earth, waste etc) for the entire period of 10 years, so the use cannot be as described.
- The appeal decision plan (page 6) omits the embankment (the area including the subject of this application). This shows that the embankment as at April 2010 was not used for those activities described in the appeal decision (“storage of non-agricultural plant, equipment, vehicles and materials”).
August 2020: Dorney Parish Council objected to the Planning Application PL/20/2020/OA, Orchard Herbs, Lake End Road, Dorney, Buckinghamshire, SL4 6QS, Outline permission for re-development of existing partial brownfield site into renewable energy park with high capacity battery storage, 416 bedroom hotel (Use Class C1), two office units (Use Class A2), biogas waste digester energy unit, advanced educational facility, two-storey car park and associated landscaping, on the following grounds:-
- The land is not a brown field site (Previously Developed Land); it is a green field Green Belt site with only a small stable block and former small farm shop. The only reason that it is not currently in agricultural use is because the current occupiers have carrying out unauthorised operations on agricultural land for an extended period of time.
- Most, if not all, the activities on site are the subject of Enforcement Notices which we believe have not been complied with and therefore the Applicant should comply with those Notices before this Application could have been registered. We question why or how, the Local Planning Authority registered an Application that is the subject of outstanding Enforcement action and the land having unauthorised uses carrying on
- This Application should be described as a ‘Green Belt Application’. In order for this Application to be considered, the site needs to be reallocated through the Local Plan consultation procedure and the current Examination in Public which is in it’s second sitting and near conclusion. This site is not included within the Local Plan and therefore should not be considered as a site applicable to uses contrary to Green Belt policy.
- The site is most likely contaminated because of the introduction of old or dysfunctional vehicles that may be at end-of-life status. In the opinion if the Parish Council, it is an illegal scrapyard.
- By registering this Application the Local Planning Authority creates a dangerous precedent or precursor for other land owners of Green Belt land to consider that there may be a possibility of development. The Parish Council believes that there should be an investigation into how this Application was registered, thus apparently giving it credibility.
This site is not within the parish of Dorney but does significantly impinge upon the village and could do so very dramatically if there was any Change of Use allowed on this site.
The only non-Green Belt Change of Use has been through the Certificate of Lawfulness for what was originally a small one man band builder with a pile of rubble and a white van. Since then it has been expanded out of all recognition. A Certificate of Lawfulness is not the same as a Planning Permission.
Conclusion
Dorney Parish Council strongly object to this Application and to its registration.