Wigmore residents seek action over mobile homes

Villagers are furious about what they say are planning breaches that has created an eyesore at a mobile home park.

Wigmore Parish Group Council has called on Herefordshire Council to investigate what it claims are “multiple breaches” of planning conditions at a mobile home park behind the village’s Castle Inn.

A recent parish council meeting approved a report detailing the alleged breaches, which include installing 24 caravan bases, which it says is four more than originally permitted.

The report also alleges these are partly on land not covered by the original permission, including on the pub’s beer garden.

And it claims that work on the site continued after a date agreed verbally with the council’s planning enforcement officer to cease such work.

A Wigmore resident who wished to remain anonymous said: “The villagers are extremely concerned with the uncontrolled development.

“It has created an eyesore, led to sewage problems, destroyed habitats, has a huge carbon footprint and will raise traffic on an already congested road.”

Carole Gandy, county councillor for the ward which includes Wigmore, said that the most recent planning application had been made by a previous owner of the site in 2007, and that it has since changed hands several times.

“The council’s planning enforcement officer has asked the owners to seek retrospective planning permission for the work, which they have now done, rather than taking enforcement action which costs the council money,” she said.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of this issue. Staff have visited the site several times and it remains under investigation.”

He confirmed that it had received a retrospective planning application for work at the site, which would appear on the council website shortly.

The site’s owner Andrew Lunnon, who also owns the Castle Inn, one of two pubs in the village, said the permission has been granted in 1987 and that the latest work on the park was in line with that.

He explained that the “lodge-type” mobile homes would each be owned privately “for residential use throughout the year”.

“I am just bringing them up to modern health and safety and other standards,” he said.

He said he foresaw no problem gaining retrospective planning permission for the homes, as their number would be no higher than in previous years.

“If they have been in continual use for over 10 years, permission is automatically granted,” Lunnon said.

He added that work on the homes stopped as soon as he was told to do so by the council, and the tree felling had been carried out by next-door neighbours, not within the park.

“I am thinking of closing the Castle Inn for good in the next four weeks,” he said.

“I lose money on it, I kept it open to keep the villagers happy, but everyone is complaining. I wish folks would just have a chat with me.”