Enforcement Action Likely

COUNCILLORS have refused permission for high fencing around a nursery, which has been put up without planning permission.

The Imperial Day Nursery occupies a part of a large semi-detached property in Imperial Avenue, Westcliff.

Permission for enforcement action is now likely to be sought after the owners subdivided the front garden with 1.83m high close board fencing and installed fencing to the front of the property without planning permission.

Planning officers who mounted an investigation said it was “prominent and stark” and recommended the application be refused by councillors on the development control committee.

At a committee meeting it was revealed planning officers had been investigating potential the planning breaches since last year, with other planning issues the subject of negotiations for even longer.

Coun Carole Mulroney questioned why it had taken so long and compared it to planning breaches by the daughter of veteran fundraiser Captain Tom. She said: “We are a year on. That’s a long time to be investigating something, which let’s face it, it’s not Captain Tom’s spa is it?

“It’s obviously something that’s been an ongoing saga. To me a year to get to a stage where we might be taking enforcement action, if this comes under the four-year rule, if we’re not careful we’ll end up with four years and they’ve got a lawful development.

Nigel Folkard, Conservative councillor for Chalkwell Ward, said: “I have had residents raise concerns about this planning application and I fully support the officers in refusing planning permission.

“It seems to have varying negotiations with the council over a number of years. I think it pre-dates covid, so I endorse refusal of planning permission.”

The two-storey building with rooms in the roof is in mixed use with the long-standing day nursery on the ground floor and a residential unit in the upper floors.

The planning permission being sought also included two storage sheds, a pergola, a bin store, a covered store and a cycle stand along with the boundary fencing.

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