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.

Subsequent site visits revealed the caravan to be abandoned in the field, with the Land Registry recording that ownership of the site had recently changed hands, and by late-2020 all letters addressing the matter were “undeliverable and being returned.”

READ NEXT

Following a further site visit in 2021, the council launched a further round of enforcement in November of that year, culminating in the caravan being removed by the council itself.

Under section 178 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, local authorities can carry out the work required in an enforcement notice if the landowner does not comply – and can pursue the relevant parties to claim back to the costs.

A similar procedure was recently undertaken by Somerset West and Taunton Council regarding Tonedale Mill in Wellington, ordering Mancraft Ltd. to make urgent repairs to part of the site by February 10.

After the owner of the Westport caravan did not come forward after a final letter was sent in December 2021, the council removed the vehicle on February 22 and arranged for it to be stored for 28 days, allowing the owner to claim it before it is destroyed.

Kirsty Larkins, the council’s director of service delivery, said: “The team tried working with the landowners informally to resolve the issue, when this didn’t work we had to take formal enforcement action.

“We are pleased to have resolved this issue and removed the caravan from the site. It sets a good precedent for future planning enforcement.”