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Planned inspector dismisses appeal over illegal farm flats

Published
A Gloucester man who built flats inside a barn on his farm has lost his appeal to keep them, after a planning inspector ruled in favour of Gloucester City Council.

Sean Gorman, 58, who owns Severnside Farm on Bonnies Lane, was told in July last year that the flats breached planning laws having been built on agricultural land and in a flood risk zone without permission.

He was served an enforcement notice by the city council that ordered the removal of all fixtures and fittings including wiring and plumbing that meant they could be used as housing.

However, Mr Gorman appealed to the government’s planning inspectorate to overturn the decision at a two-day inquiry held at the council’s Eastgate offices.

He argued that the enforcement notice had not been properly served and didn’t consider his gypsy status, which is a protected characteristic.

The planning inspector rejected the claim as he was served personally with the notice and had been able to seek professional advice and lodge his appeal.

Mr Gorman also challenged the council’s enforcement notice on the grounds that the flats had been on the land since 2020 and had been in continuous use for four years.

This was rejected by the inspector who found there were gaps in the evidence including no tenancy agreements for the flats between July 2021 and 2023 and the earliest tenancy agreement was from 2023.

He described the evidence given by Mr Gorman and his witnesses as ‘contradictory’.

“It is not clear from the appellant’s evidence when those two separate dwellings were created, when self-contained use actually commenced and subsequently that the use occurred over a 4-year period without significant interruption.”

Mr Gorman now has six months to comply with the enforcement notice by carrying out works to remove the flats from residential use. Failure to comply with the notice can result in further legal action.

A spokesperson for Gloucester City Council, said: “We’re pleased that the inspector agreed with our view that this was a serious breach of planning laws. Our planning regulations are there to protect our city from unauthorised development and to make sure that the city works for everyone. We will not hesitate to take action where people do not seek the appropriate permissions.”