Council wins court battle over airport parking on former nursery site

A FORMER nursery site at Lymm has been given full legal protection against controversial proposals to use it as an airport parking facility for up to 1,000 cars.
Warrington Borough Council has successfully obtained a final injunction to protect land in Lymm Road from unlawful use.
The High Court has confirmed and extended the injunction to cover all the operational development of Vincent Clayton, 36, Caddick’s Ltd, Mark Doubleday, 43 and Cheshire Airport Parking Ltd at the former site of Caddick’s Clematis Nursery. It protects the land from unlawful use as a commercial off-site airport parking facility.
In March, the council received an application for planning permission  to use the land – which is in the Green Belt – for commercial off-site airport parking, for up to 1,000 cars.
However, the landowner and the others involved in the project had already started parking cars on the land, in breach of planning law, before any planning application was decided.
Planning consent was subsequently refused.
As a result, the Council started proceedings in the High Court and was granted:
* an emergency “without notice” injunction followed by a temporary injunction (until the outcome of the planning permission, which was refused in August 2018); then
* a final injunction against the landowner and commercial operator (both limited companies and individuals) prohibiting the unlawful use of the site.
The final order prohibits all four defendants – Mr Clayton, Caddick’s Ltd, Mr Doubleday and Cheshire Ariport Parking Ltd – from using the land for the purposes of commercial parking services or bringing any cars onto the land for that purpose.
It also prohibits Mr Clayton and Caddick’s Ltd, who own/control the land, from bringing hardcore, gravel or other materials onto the land or creating any further areas of hardstanding.
In addition, Mr Doubleday and Cheshire Airport Parking Ltd are prohibited from undertaking any operational development on the land without either express planning permission or the written consent of the council, as local planning authority.
The council’s lead member for environment and public protection, Cllr Judith Guthrie (pictured), said: “The decision of the High Court is the latest success for our public protection team, and ensures this land is protected.
“We will always take action against individuals and companies who seek to act outside planning law. I’m pleased that the hard work of officers to respond to this issue has paid off.”
If any of the defendants breach the terms of the final injunction order, they could be fined, have assets seized or be imprisoned for contempt of court.
In addition, the court ordered that the four defendants pay the council a total of £21,218 towards its legal costs of the injunction proceedings. The judge decided that Mr Clayton and Caddick’s Ltd should pay slightly more than half of that sum as they own and control the land.