|
Published:
March 29, 2007
Exclusive:
Enforcement notice issued over Burnham-On-Sea caravan
An
enforcement notice is set to be issued during the next 24 hours
requesting that a Burnham-On-Sea land owner stops using her garden
as the base for a caravan occupied by a Big Issue seller.
 Burnham-On-Sea.com
reported in February
how Big Issue seller Colin Johnstone (pictured) could be
forced to move out of his caravan because of a row over planning
permission.
The
59 year-old's plight also caught the attention of the national
press.
It
came after Sedgemoor District Council had demanded that the owner
of the garden where Colin's caravan is located must apply for
planning permission.
Now,
Sedgemoor's Senior Enforcement Control Officer Paul Morrisey told
Burnham-On-Sea.com this week: "We will be issuing an enforcement
notice during the next 24 hours after it was alleged there had
been a change of use of land. The caravan has in effect become
a dwelling and we are therefore asking that the land owner ceases
using the land for the caravan within three months."
Mr
Morrisey explained that if a caravan parked on someone's property
is used independently from the main house, then planning permission
is needed to change the use of the land.
The
rules state that if someone sleeps in the caravan but uses the
house to wash and prepare food, permission isn't needed, but if
it is a seperate dwelling, the owners need to apply to the council.
The
garden's owner, Sylvia Sparkes of Steart Avenue, told Burnham-On-Sea.com
on Thursday morning (March 29th): "I am hoping to appeal,
but it all boils down to how much it will cost me to do so. I
can't put Colin back out onto the streets."
"I
really don't think the council properly understands the situation.
While Colin sleeps in the caravan and uses a TV, he doesn't eat
or cook there."
RELATED
LINKS:
Burnham-On-Sea
Big Issue seller's eviction fight gets national attention
|
