Town councillor to bring legal challenge over government failure to obtain planning permission for Bibby Stockholm barge

A local resident has put the Government on notice of her intention to challenge the Home Secretary’s failure to obtain necessary planning permission to use the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate asylum seekers in Portland Harbour in Dorset.

It is argued that the barge’s “permanent mooring” extends the planning jurisdiction, and it therefore requires planning permission.

The Home Office began transferring people onto the barge at the beginning of this week (7 August). Up to 500 men will eventually live on the vessel in Portland Harbour while they await the outcome of asylum applications.

Represented by Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors (DPG), Carralyn Parkes is Mayor of Portland, and town councillor of the Underhill ward where the barge is located. However, the firm said she is bringing the challenge “in her private capacity as a local resident, and not on behalf of any public body”.

In her letter to the Home Secretary, Ms Parkes set out why planning permission is required for the barge to be used as the Government intends.

DPG said: “First, our client argues that Portland Harbour is within the jurisdiction of the local planning authority. By proceeding without it, the Home Secretary is circumventing the proper planning process.

“Second, the barge is effectively a permanent structure, moored and connected to the land to operate with supplies for electricity, sewage, for people and staff to get on and off, and for the moving of supplies. It is therefore more akin to a pier, dock or marina than a transient vessel. This permanent mooring extends the planning jurisdiction, and the barge therefore requires planning permission.”

Lastly, it was submitted that various works have been carried out on shore in order to support the barge. “Those works – including the creation of an exercise area, erection of fences and structures, changing a building’s use to hold regular meetings regarding the barge, and installation of plumbing and electricity – require planning permission, either together with the Barge as a ‘planning unit’ or in their own right”, the law firm said.

According to DPG, Dorset Council have said that they consider that planning permission is not necessary for the installation, operation and use of the barge, because it “lies below the mean low water mark, and is therefore not within the local planning authority’s jurisdiction”.

It was revealed that Ms Parkes is relying on crowdfunding for her own legal costs and to cover the risk that costs are awarded against her.

She is represented by Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors, instructing Penelope Nevill of Twenty Essex Chambers, Alex Shattock of Landmark Chambers and Fiona Petersen of Twenty Essex Chambers.

Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors said: “The Home Secretary is circumventing planning permission procedures to use the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate vulnerable asylum seekers in conditions which are clearly inadequate. The Home Secretary’s plans have caused widespread concern in our client’s local community, and have deprived the Council of its ability to exert relevant planning control. We will be asking the Court to declare that planning permission is required, and that the Home Secretary must follow the relevant procedures.”

The Home Office has said that there have been “a number of last-minute legal challenges” and that it would be “inappropriate to comment on ongoing proceedings”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The first asylum seekers are now being housed on the vessel in Portland after it successfully completed all health, fire and safety checks. The number of people on board will increase gradually with more arrivals later this week and in the coming months, as part of a carefully structured phased approach. 

“This marks a further step forward in the government’s work to bring forward alternative accommodation options as part of its pledge to reduce the use of expensive hotels and move to a more orderly, sustainable system which is more manageable for local communities. This is a tried and tested approach that mirrors that taken by our European neighbours, the Scottish Government and offers better value for the British taxpayer.”

Dorset Council has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson