THURROCK Council has refused an application for a sports memorabilia business to continue operating on a Corringham green belt site reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
The business operating on a former garden centre site on land adjacent to The Paddock And Nutoi, Park Gate Road, Corringham had sought a Lawful Development Certificate on the grounds that it had been operating on the site for more than ten years and was therefore automatically entitled to a certificate of lawfulness.
Past and current employees of the company owned by Matthew Reed provided statements to the council backing the owner’s claim.
One said: “I have worked from Matthew Reed from pre 1999/2000 selling football merchandise and was working for him during and after he purchased and transferred his business from South Road, Stanford le Hope around 2001.
“When he moved into the property it was being used as a commercial garden centre and stables. With regards to the garden centre, he done away with it and has stored and sold his memorabilia, and company clothing in the buildings since 2002 and I have worked there all that time.”
Planning officers were not convinced however, particularly since it was claimed a seemingly new building had also been on the site for more than ten years.
In a report, they said: “It plainly evident from the council’s aerial mapping tools that the building between the building and the northernmost building south of the ‘yard’ area on the site plan has not been on site for ten years, and therefore cannot have been in use by the applicant for the period alleged.
“It is very obviously a new building – featuring immaculate external cladding and a pristine concrete pad internally. Aerial photos show it was erected in approximately 2021, where the pad is evident without a roof above. They also show that in 2018 the site was clear and there is no structure on it, and prior to that it is evident that the remains of a greenhouse was on site and in poor condition.”
Officers concluded: “The application fails to demonstrate, on the balance of probability, that the land and building have been used for the identified purposes for a continuous period of at least ten years prior to the date of the application.”
Intersting Thurrock had identified a man selling football memorabilia from an old LDC gardening centre
But we have a whole industrial estate been built with numerous different companies operating on an old 2010 LDC that was a garden centre
The legal dept of TBC should be giving a decision on the old greenwise nursery now a business park how much evidence do they need when they can do this to little one man band but not to an in your face multipule buisnesses ..
Surely Business Tax/Council tax/Rates etc would cover the years in dispute. Strange how TBC use aerial photo’ s for that, but do nothing about certain travellers camps that have suddenly expanded by excavation of surrounding land and installing mobile/static home/homes there.
Thurrock council are a an absolute joke, might do them good to focus more on the individual who got them in 1.4 billion debt (equivalent of 8k per resident)
Have they nothing better to do than focus on a small business on someone’s own land that doesn’t interfere with anyone or anything. More interested in trying to ruin people’s livelihoods than focusing on the things that actually matter to the community. Makes no sense. Zero morals from thurrock council as usual.
Thurrock council are a joke I’m sorry so much more they should be concentrating on !!far more important issues!!
This makes no sense whatsoever??
Embarrassed to be associated with Thurrock!!!
The only beefed up department at Thurrock is employing the revenue control officers.
The bigger the planning unit, the more money to be collected from the business that “forgot” to pay its business rates.