Council takes legal action to enforce 16-year-old 'persons unknown' injunction against occupying site
Tewkesbury Borough Council is bringing a legal case to enforce an injunction that was first obtained in 2007 to prevent occupation of a site in Southam, Gloucestershire.
The borough council’s injunction concerned land at Kayte Lane, Southam and prohibited ‘persons unknown’ from occupying or developing the land without planning permission.
The land came to the attention of the council again in 2015 when part of the site was occupied and developed unlawfully and in breach of the injunction order.
In response, the council commenced legal proceedings, leading to a contempt of court finding and suspended custodial sentences.
Two years later, a planning appeal was made against a council decision to refuse planning permission for the change of use of part of the land to use for stationing of caravans for residential occupation by a gypsy-traveller family.
The appeal was allowed, and planning permission was granted, subject to a condition requiring the use to cease on 18 December 2020. But the use continued past the deadline.
A further planning application was made in 2019, seeking planning permission for the temporary site to be made permanent and for it to be expanded into adjoining land, but this was refused.
In July 2022, a third planning application was lodged, also seeking permission to retain the existing site as a residential caravan site for an extended gypsy-traveller family.
The council exercised its statutory power to decline to determine this application on the basis that it was similar to the application dismissed on appeal last year, there being no changes in the material planning circumstances since that time.
In an update published this week (24 July), the council said it is now preparing its legal case to enforce the injunction order in respect of the whole site.
The council said it anticipates that proceedings will be defended “and therefore are likely to be ongoing for several months”.
Adam Carey
