Amended Post 09 Feb 2012
The Planning Inspector has dismissed several appeals against the SSDC’s stop order on the unauthorised erection and storage of steel containers on land adjoining Moor Lane on Horsington Marsh.
The containers are on a 22-acre field principally owned by a company in Barry, South Wales, Masha Estates Ltd, who have divided it into building plots and are selling it off to gullible investors via their website. The plots on which the containers are sited are owned by the Lovatt family, who launched the appeal.
Clearly any development here would be illegal, and the council and local residents are being vigilant to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.
The owners of the offending plots have stated that the containers are being used to store equipment in connection with running a fish farm, which is also not a permitted development on this site.
In dismissing the appeals, the inspector, James Ellis, opens the way for the council to enforce its stop notice. Watch this space!
We are grateful to readers who pointed out a minor error in this story. It has now been amended.
I’m delighted to see that the offending containers and caravan have been removed thanks to concerted efforts by local residents with total support and assistance of SSDC. Well done the Council in taking speedy action to stop this illegal development. Let’s hope that no-one else is tempted to fulfil the “vision” of Masha Estates http://www.mashaestates.com/ who are still unashamedly advertising small plots in this field linked by an access road, albeit with the following proviso: ” Please Note All land sold by Masha Estates Ltd is without planning permission and is purely agriculture. The land plots are sold without prior planning permission. Masha Estates Ltd does not imply or state that any planning permission will be granted.” Many of us believe that this sort of sub-division is bad for the countryside and should be stopped.