Victory in fight on Staffordshire caravan plots
A council has won a long legal battle so it can make sure caravan plots placed illegally on green belt land in Cannock are removed.
South Staffordshire Council confirmed they are now visiting Kingswood Colliery, in Watling Street, Great Wyrley, on a regular basis to ensure the landowner takes away concrete pads installed on a field to spread out caravans across the site.
Councillor Brian Cox said: "The council has been cracking down on unauthorised development in South Staffordshire, and will not hesitate to issue enforcement notices when planning conditions have been breached or the proper processes have not been followed.
"The former Kingswood Colliery site has previously been used as an approved travelling showpeople site, but the landowner has attempted to develop land outside of the approved site.
"We have issued two enforcement notices requiring the landowner to remove concrete pads he had previously put down.
"After a lengthy legal battle we have had confirmation that the notices are now effective and must be complied with.
"We are also regularly visiting the site to ensure works are continuing to comply with the enforcement notices and will not hesitate to involve the courts if they are not complied with."
A resident from Pool View, who claimed she represented several people concerned about the matter, contacted the Express and Star and spoke of her alarm at how long the saga had dragged on.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have been fighting this since 2007 when all of the lovely trees were cut down.
"We just thought they were tidying up the land a little. We used to be able to look straight across the fields to the A5 but now we are looking straight on to a caravan park."
In 2000 a Certificate of Lawfulness of Existing Use was granted for the central part of the site and up to 14 caravans have been on the plot ever since.
In 2009 the landowner applied to South Staffordshire Council for retrospective planning permission to carry out engineering works to provide Travelling Showpersons plots 'slightly outside' of the area where they were already allowed.
But the council ultimately refused the proposal.
