Beacons caravan site saga continues

A High Court judge has quashed the original planning permission for a caravan site in mid Wales which has been at the centre of a development control saga with serious implications for the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.

The handling of the original planning consent for the Gilestone Caravan Park, near Talybont-on-Usk, prompted an inquiry into the way the authority managed its planning services. The subsequent report highlighted serious criticism of the past performance of the authority and led to the suspension of its chief executive who later resigned.

The future of the site is now back in the melting pot after a ruling that the planning permission granted five years ago was so flawed that Mr Justice Duncan Ouseley concluded it was invalid.

The case was brought by local residents who claimed the 64-pitch caravan site was an eyesore and should be closed down.

In his 40-page judgment the judge concluded that “the planning process should not have failed so badly in so many ways on an important planning application for planning permission in a national park”.

The residents had wanted the planning authority to revoke the original consent and criticised it for opting for enforcement action to curb breaches of planning conditions.

Mary Taylor, chairman of Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, said: “We welcome the judgment that has been handed down. It endorses the decisions taken by this authority since the failings of the Gilestone planning application emerged.”

The judge’s decision found that the planning authority’s decision not to order a discontinuance notice against the caravan park, taken because of a compensation estimate that was later shown to be wrong, was “flawed on narrow grounds”.

But he said the authority was justified in considering the economic effect on its own limited reserves of ordering the closure of the park.

The caravan park owners are expected to appeal the High Court ruling.

 

Roger Milne
4 February 2010