Latest news with #planninglaws
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lost playgrounds should be replaced, says MP
An MP is calling for a change in planning laws to ensure that any playgrounds lost to development will be replaced nearby. Tom Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, has tabled an amendment to the government's Planning and Infrastructure Bill which has its second and third readings in the Commons this week. He wants a "play sufficiency" duty in England to ensure no-net loss of existing play spaces due to development without equivalent provision by local council planners. The same rules already apply in Wales and Scotland. The MP says the subject is close to his heart: "Over the last decade, we've seen playgrounds boarded up because planning authorities are not required by law to look after playgrounds. "My amendment to this bill will require planning authorities to properly invest in playgrounds. "Where there is any development, there is no loss of playgrounds in a town or a city." In January Hayes held a debate in parliament on improving public parks. He highlighted the situation in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch after the councillor in charge of parks and gardens in the towns told the BBC the authority has been forced to close some play parks "because we haven't the money to keep maintaining them". Parents in Boscombe said that the local playground had deteriorated so badly their children no longer want to play there. Hayes added: "You walk through a town like Bournemouth and you see a playground boarded up, it just fills you with hopelessness. "It looks like a blight, children can not learn or develop social skills and they can not improve their mental health through play. "We keep telling children to get off their phones and screens, but if we're not providing outdoor play opportunities, we're not sending the right signal". "This is a call on all councils to invest in play opportunities because we've seen over a decade or more nearly 1,000 playgrounds closed across the country." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram. 'It's heart-breaking council can't afford playground' New chief executive announced for council Community council plans divide residents' opinions Parents campaign to replace missing climbing frames BCP Council
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Bournemouth MP calls for developed playgrounds to be replaced
An MP is calling for a change in planning laws to ensure that any playgrounds lost to development will be replaced Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, has tabled an amendment to the government's Planning and Infrastructure Bill which has its second and third readings in the Commons this wants a "play sufficiency" duty in England to ensure no-net loss of existing play spaces due to development without equivalent provision by local council planners. The same rules already apply in Wales and Scotland. The MP says the subject is close to his heart: "Over the last decade, we've seen playgrounds boarded up because planning authorities are not required by law to look after playgrounds."My amendment to this bill will require planning authorities to properly invest in playgrounds."Where there is any development, there is no loss of playgrounds in a town or a city."In January Hayes held a debate in parliament on improving public highlighted the situation in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch after the councillor in charge of parks and gardens in the towns told the BBC the authority has been forced to close some play parks "because we haven't the money to keep maintaining them". Parents in Boscombe said that the local playground had deteriorated so badly their children no longer want to play added: "You walk through a town like Bournemouth and you see a playground boarded up, it just fills you with hopelessness."It looks like a blight, children can not learn or develop social skills and they can not improve their mental health through play."We keep telling children to get off their phones and screens, but if we're not providing outdoor play opportunities, we're not sending the right signal"."This is a call on all councils to invest in play opportunities because we've seen over a decade or more nearly 1,000 playgrounds closed across the country." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Hotelier who spent £55k building his own canal and 'giant cupcake' in back garden 'fears for his business' ahead of showdown with council
A hotelier who spent £55,000 building his own canal and a 'giant cupcake' wedding venue in his garden faces having to rip them down after falling foul of planning laws. Stephen Cuddy made headlines after building his own mini-canal system with a functioning lock and a narrowboat, which he converted into a swimming pool. He went on to construct a cupcake-shaped wedding venue within the grounds of Grimscote Manor Hotel in Coleshill, Warwickshire. Both creations were hailed by TV's George Clarke as being among the best 'Amazing Spaces' he had ever featured on the Channel 4 show. But it has now emerged Stephen didn't have council approval to build either. And he has been warned that both may have to be torn down if he doesn't get retrospective planning permission. Stephen, 59, fears will have no choice but to demolish his labours of love, as he can't afford the legal fees to fight the local authority after splashing out on the projects. He claims it would cost him up to £100,000 to defend their construction. The self-taught architect said: 'It's really stressing me out and I don't know what to do as I don't have the money to fight them. 'I had issues from the start with the council but I thought I could build these things as a result of my permitted development rights. 'I don't agree the canal is a structure, I thought it would be classed under landscaping and all it does is harvest rainfall. 'I think the cupcake might be a permanent structure if we do start hosting weddings there like we intended but at the moment it's not being used for that. 'You try and create all these beautiful things for people to enjoy and this is what happens. I'm sure they will try and make me pull them down. 'I fear for my business as these creations are a draw for people and we saw revenue increase when both were built - some people even come just to have a photo with it.' Stephen previously purchased a 35ft (10m) long vintage barge off eBay for £5,000 and spent £25,000 constructing an accurate reproduction of a Victorian canal lock to house it. He also built a redbrick lockkeeper's cottage, an outdoor patio within a decorative tunnel alcove and installed a 29ft (8m) long swimming pool inside the barge. Stephen then spent £25,000 building the 'world's biggest cupcake' on a reinforced stable roof which he had planned to use for weddings or to host tea parties. It has an unsupported, domed roof without any vertical central upright. George Clarke described it as 'Genuinely one of my favourite Amazing Spaces builds of all time.' North Warwickshire District Council also say a marquee erected at the hotel breaches planning laws and also requires planning permission. Stephen added: 'They also have issues with the marquee which I've had for over ten years at which point you can claim lawful use regardless of permission. 'But because I took it down during Covid, they are also pulling me up on that as it doesn't come under the ten year lawful use period. 'I previously obtained the relevant permissions for the marquee when it was first erected in 2009 but that wasn't without a fight which cost £50,000 in legal fees. 'It was originally refused on safety grounds because of the increased traffic - and that is why I fear the worst now if they try to pull the same trick again. 'They want me to send in a joint application for all three things, but I think they should all be dealt with separately. I don't even know why they suddenly have an issue with marquee. 'It's a £100,000 defence I've estimated if I fight it all the way, which I just don't have. 'We've had no complaints whatsoever, exactly the opposite, everyone loves them. There would be uproar if I had to tear them down. 'I'm just trying to run a business and want to move on to other projects but have this lingering over me now. 'I think the council need a lesson in how to deal people with a bit of tact and humility instead of threats because this has really broken me.' The council says Mr Cuddy (pictured) can still opt to apply for full planning permission if he wants to keep all of the things he has built North Warwickshire District Council said several options were still open to Stephen before enforcement action would be taken. In a letter to Stephen, a planning officer said: 'During the subsequent tour of the hotel grounds, breaches of planning control were identified here. 'Located between the hotel building and the marquee is a round structure with a turret style roof, externally this structure resembles the shape of a cupcake. 'It is nearing completion and has been constructed on top of an existing stable block structure. 'There is no permitted development rights afforded to C1 Hotel use land by the GPDO that would allow for this structure without the need for planning permission. 'Upon entry to the site, a canal feature comprising a to scale canal lock, boat and tunnel can be seen. 'There is no planning permission to account for this. This is not "permitted development" and would be considered an engineering operation. 'It can be seen via Streetview imagery that this development was constructed between November 2021 and July 2023. 'It will need to be shown in a retrospective full planning application for formal consideration. 'For the avoidance of formal enforcement action, you are advised to submit a valid 'Full Planning Application' detailing retention of the Wedding Marquee, 'Cupcake' structure and Canal feature, as identified above. 'If you do not wish to apply for retrospective planning permission, a timeframe for removal of these developments may need to be agreed.' A North Warwickshire Borough Council spokesperson said: 'We have explained the planning situation to Mr Cuddy and have outlined several options open to him.
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Locals on quiet cul-de-sac 'at their wits end' after neighbour turns back garden gym into home and moves a whole FAMILY in... and another adds an extra storey to their garage
Residents on a quiet cul-de-sac say their lives are being ruined by out-of-control landlords making a mockery of planning laws. In the last six months, one landlord's plan for a 'gym' in the garden has resulted in a family, minus a proper address, moving into a studio flat. And now his neighbour is building a two-storey structure having told the local Council that he was after single-storey garages. 'It is just getting ridiculous,' said Jay Hussain, an auditor, who is leading the residents fightback against Walsall Council. 'This has always been a quiet street, now the turning circle at the end of the road is so full of rubble and cars that the bin lorries can't turn round.' Brookhouse Road leads down to the busy Birmingham Road, connected by a walkway, and it is from there that the problems have sprung. The three-storey Victorian terraces which back onto Brookhouse Road have all been converted into Homes of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) or self-contained flats. And, locals say, the landlords just can't stop cramming people in and are running rings around local planners. Mr Hussain, who has sent numerous emails to the Council complaining about breaches to agreed plans, said: 'We are all at our wit's end. 'At best it feels like the Council don't care, at worst they come across as corrupt.' The problems started when plans went in for one of the properties to build a gym in the garden of their terraced house, which contains five self-contained flats. 'We all thought it seemed like a very big gym to have in your back garden,' said Asadul Haque, 47, a manufacturer who lives with his family next to the development. 'Now it houses a family. We have had furniture delivered to us for this property. They are acting like it is part of our road.' Now the landlord, a Mr S Ali, has submitted 'retrospective' plans to change an existing outbuilding into a 'self-contained dwelling'. Jenny Smith, 81, who moved in with her husband Ken, an accountant, and their two young children, in 1980, said: 'This road was lovely. It has always been quiet and our children played in the street. 'You could count on one hand the number of cars you'd see in a day but that has all changed. 'The two garages which belong to the property on Birmingham Road, have become a development site. 'We have had bags of rubbish lying around since before Christmas and the workers don't know where to put their cars. 'The turning circle should be free for fire engines and bin lorries and the like but not any more.' Neighbours said they regularly wake up to noise with workmen sometimes at it from 8am on a Sunday. The plans for the replacement garage, workshop and home office, had showed a flat roof but the residents can see stairs have been installed along with a pitched roof. Mr Hussain added: 'Walsall Council are creating a situation where you can breach planning rules and get away with it. 'If one HMO landlord can do it then what will stop the one next door doing the same thing 'It seems like the Council are just not interested in what residents have to say. 'I don't understand how they can have CEOs on £200,000, directors of planning paid £160,000 as they keep putting up the Council Tax every year. 'Their lack of action is ruining a very content, mixed community.' The latest letter sent to the Council by the residents accused them of 'bias' in favour of the property developers. It read: 'We have been reporting our growing concerns about the owner of this property continuing to erect an outbuilding at the end of his garden in a way that is clearly in breach of the plans approved by the Council. 'He has misled the planning department in his description of the structure, in order to secure planning approval. 'What was described as single storey garages and workshop to gain approval has now developed into a two-storey building capable of being used as living space to extend their existing HMO.' The letter went on: 'This behaviour is creating a risk of setting a precedent in the borough of normalising planning breaches, a risk that is now crystalising on our street. 'The owner of 253 is carrying on with works in the knowledge that the Council is weak and will not act. 'The owner of 255 is being given a second chance to now submit new plans for what is now a studio flat (belying his original approved plans). 'The detrimental effect of out-of-control HMO's/self contained accommodation is evident already on this road and we the residents will not allow this or other landlords to jeopardise our security, safety and community wellbeing.' A Walsall Council spokesperson said, 'We are continuing our investigations into the matters raised by residents and have provided a number of detailed responses on the processes being followed, including a formal complaints process which has now concluded. 'The national planning system allows the submission of retrospective planning applications, and we have a duty to determine what is before us. 'We are also maintaining communication with relevant property owner(s) to seek to address any outstanding matters where they fall within the remit of the powers available to us. 'A cross-service approach has been taken between our planning, highways, housing standards and community protection teams to provide residents with a comprehensive position and update on all matters. 'Despite council officers reviewing the complaints and visiting the location, we've been clear about the issues that we do not currently have sufficient evidence to pursue any action on, namely the traffic and parking issues and anti-social behaviour. 'Evidence will continue to be collected where appropriate to inform any next steps or necessary future review of the matters raised.'
BBC News
09-05-2025
- BBC News
Travellers at Lurgashall served injunction banning more caravans
Chichester District Council has applied for an injunction against a family of travellers who have set up caravans in a West Sussex field. Workers spent last weekend removing a deep layer of soil in a field on Blind Lane near Lurgashall, Petworth, before spreading it with hardcore council has already issued a stop notice at the South Downs National Park site. The family have told the BBC that they believed they had a right to live there and would not leave. Seven caravans and motorhomes were brought onto the site on Monday, with nearby residents saying they were outraged that strict planning laws in place in the South Downs National Park had seemingly been 100 people attended a Lurgashall Parish Council meeting on District Council leader Adrian Moss told attendees that barristers had prepared an injunction application which the council had submitted to a judge."The injunction means that they cannot do any more works or bring any more caravans onto the site or they would be liable to prosecution," he said."The ultimate aim is to have them removed from the site but we must wait for the court to make the decision about what happens next." Some residents approached by the BBC after the meeting said they were reassured that the council was taking these legal steps, others were less sure. Asked to sum up the feelings of the community, one woman replied "anxious and helpless". Ward district councillor Brett Burkhart said the village felt "violated" and people were "very shocked". One resident, who did not want to be named, said a car came from the site and followed him aggressively, with the driver and passenger using threatening and intimidating behaviour and language. The BBC has spoken to the travellers, who denied that any members of the family had been added that they have reported hateful comments made about them online to the police. The family said they believed they had the right to live on land that they said they owned and they told the BBC they had no choice but to do this unlawfully "as we're never heard or given a voice". They added: "We're treated like aliens and have suffered years of discrimination."We just want to be accepted in this community. We're not moving anywhere." The South Downs National Park Association said: "We are appalled at the unauthorised works on this site in the National Park, which has been designated on behalf of the entire nation for its natural beauty, biodiversity and heritage."We take breaches of planning and unauthorised development very seriously and will continue to work with Chichester District Council to resolve the situation."
