Illegal caravan removed from farmland at Westport
Date of alert:
Crime Ref:
Force:
Avon & Somerset Constabulary
An illegal caravan has been removed from Somerset farmland – four years after the problem was first reported to the council.
South Somerset District Council’s planning enforcement team were informed in 2018 of a caravan being sited without planning permission on agricultural land in the tiny hamlet of Westport, between Ilminster and Langport, writes Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter.
Officers served enforcement notices on the landowner, calling on the caravan to be removed, but repeated letters were ignored.
The council confirmed on Wednesday, March 30 that the caravan was finally removed on February 22 – around four years after the issue was initially raised.
Planning permission was required to site the caravan on the land in question, since it would have resulted in a change of use in the site from agricultural to residential under existing planning law.
After being notified of the caravan in 2018, the council’s staff liaised with the owners of the site to have it removed.
When these requests were not met with action, the council served an enforcement notice on the landowner on December 5, 2019, requiring the caravan to be removed by April 14, 2020.
