Killian Garvey, acting for Wyre Borough Council, assisted with securing the dismissal of an enforcement appeal pertaining to Helms Deep, Long Lane, Barnacre.
In November 2016, Killian assisted the Council with an appeal in respect to the Site pertaining to a barn conversion and whether this was permitted development rights.
The current appeal came back in respect to the same site, following the Council serving an enforcement notice on the Site. Since the time served the enforcement notice, the Council’s enforcement officer retired from the Council, meaning that the Council lacked any direct evidence as to the use of the Site. As a consequence, several issues in dispute were conceded at the outset of the inquiry (eg. pertaining to a wooden shed and a septic tank).
Nevertheless, the Council maintained that, simply applying relevant legal principles, the appeal should be dismissed. The Inspector accepted the Council’s submissions in full.
In dismissing the appeal, the Inspector accepted that the siting of a shipping container on agricultural land could not be considered to be ancillary to the lawful use of the site. Indeed, the Inspector concluded there was no specific evidence as to the functional linkage between the storage needs of the land in question and the size of the container, meaning he could not conclude that it was lawful.