A COMMERCIAL vehicle repairer has won a planning battle with Warrington Borough Council over the alleged unauthorised use of land adjoining the green belt for the storage of heavy vehicles.
Bibby Commercials Ltd has been granted planning consent to use the land at The Mount, Winwick Road, Croft, following an appeal.
The council had issued an enforcement notice requiring that all heavy vehicles and other ancillary items were removed from the site – formerly the entrance to a quarry.
But the company argued that they had used the land since 2003 for storing vehicles awaiting an MOT test at their main premises in nearby Winwick Lane.
The firm was established in 1989 and now employed 32 people.
Use of the site helped the efficiency of the business by reducing turnaround and travel time and its loss would result in some staff being laid off.
The inspector who conducted the inquiry was told there was a substantial history of the site being used for commercial purposes – albeit largely unauthorised and intermittent – prior to 2003.
Although the use was inappropriate, on balance, he felt there were special circumstances outweighing the harm to the green belt.
Andy Farrall, the council’s director for environment and regeneration, said the absence of previous enforcement action at the site created the expectation that the firm could use the site legitimately for overspill storage
Earlier action may have prevented the established of a substantial business which now relied on the site for overspill storage.
