Land at Spence Farm, Wootton Fitzpaine, Bridport, DT6 6DF

described as ‘Continued use of land for the stationing of mobile residential accommodation including use of land for ancillary residential purposes. – Please see Cover Letter dated 21st September 2020 for further information

Authority: Dorset
Appeal type: ldc · Lawful Development Certificate
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: caravan-gypsy · Change of use
Inspector: Bond V

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the Council's refusal to grant a lawful development certificate was well founded, turning on whether the existing use was lawful as at the date of the application

What decided it

The three-month gap in occupation between December 2014 and March 2015 broke the continuity of use required for the use to become lawful, as it was a significant and unpredictable period of vacancy during which the Council could not realistically have known whether the use had permanently ceased.

Judgments cited: Thurrock BC v SSETR & Holding [2002] EWCA Civ 226; Swale BC v FSS & Lee [2005] EWCA Civ 1568

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

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Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

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