Firm denied permission to establish lorry park in Wiltshire countryside
Wiltshire Council turned down the plans, before an appeal was made to the Planning Inspectorate, who have sided with the local authority
Plans to establish a lorry park in the Wiltshire countryside have been denied by a planning inspector.
Michael Lindsey of Chelworth Properties Ltd applied to Wiltshire Council for retrospective planning permission to use agricultural land on the edge of the Chelworth Lodge Industrial Estate, near Cricklade, for commercial uses.
The half-hectare site in question is behind the Chelworth Lodge Industrial Estate which is accessed off the C70 road.
An area of hardstanding had been increased around buildings erected for a riding arena, and had been used for the parking of lorries since around 2014.
An agricultural building had been joined by a storage container, a shipping container, and a portacabin. It is currently utilised by 12 companies, employing a total of 53 people.
Among the occupants of the site are Atlas Transport Solutions Ltd, BCA Automotive, Future Industrial Services Ltd, JS Gill Ltd, Logistics Consult Ltd, PMJ Logistics Ltd, SL Newman Grab Hire Ltd, Stackia Haulage Ltd, Trolley Maintenance Services, Kelly (Holdings) Ltd, Wiltshire Grab & Haulage Ltd, and Chelworth Properties Ltd.
In July 2024 Wiltshire Council served a planning contravention order saying there had been an unauthorised change of use.
LPC sought retrospective planning permission to allow them to continue using the site.
It argued that the site formed “a natural extension of the established Industrial Estate” and is a “facility that responds to and serves local business demand and need.”
Wiltshire Council rejected the application in January 2025, and the applicant appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.
Now a planning inspector has sided with the council, saying that the “development is not in a suitable location,” and adding “the parking of large HGVs, some of which are brightly coloured, detracts from the rural character of the character of the countryside.
“Together with the containers and portacabin, the commercial use of the site results in the harmful encroachment of development westwards and southward into the countryside away from the existing industrial estate.”
The inspector conceded that “the scheme would have the year round,
economic benefit of allowing the expansion of the existing industrial estate to accommodate 12 businesses and the 53 local jobs they provide,” but concluded that the harm outweighed the benefits.