OLD Cleeve Parish Council has challenged a retrospective application for permission for six static caravans on a cliff-top site at Blue Anchor made by the councillor who represents them on the district authority.

Cllr Marcus Kravis, portfolio holder for asset management and economic development on Somerset West and Taunton Council, had applied to the district council’s planning committee for retrospective permission for a change of use of land at the Blue Anchor Hotel to accommodate the caravans for holiday lets and the retention of works already undertaken.

The site had been subject to many years of cliff erosion and in a letter of objection the parish council said it believed that no development should take place on land between the B3191 road which borders the pub and the cliff face.

The council also claimed that there was a ’likelihood’ of the caravans being used as residential lets.

In his application, Mr Kravis said the site was a sloping piece of land to the south-east of the Blue Anchor Hotel currently laid with gravel. Five of the proposed six static caravans to be used for holiday lets had already been sited, with drainage and services prepared for all six units.

The applicant entered into pre-application discussions with the local authority which included a proposal for a fuller scheme and this application was for the retention of the static caravans only.

From the advice given, the applicant had proceeded with the caravans to the east of the site only, which was generally acceptable in principle by the council’s case officer.

The site was screened from the roadside with a native hedgerow and tree line and also to the south-east with a close board fence and hedge.

The application stated: "The site is approximately 40m from the nearest residential dwelling. We therefore conclude that no properties would be affected, in terms of natural light or overlooking, as a result of this proposal.

"Each of the caravans has been sympathetically sited with vehicle access, parking and services in place. They would be used as holiday let units which would provide a much needed boast to tourism which would benefit the nearby public house and local businesses alike."

In its letter of objection, the parish council said that the ’unauthorised commencement of this development’ was reported to the former West Somerset Council in 2018 before the installation of the caravans, and again to the current council, in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

"A major concern is that by stripping the previous pasture land of turf, excavation, the placing of porous stone surfacing and installation of services - water, power and foul drainage - will allow surface water to permeate the subsoil and provide conduit pathways for subsoil water to saturate the strata below and add to coastal erosion.

"The placement of rock armouring in November 2020 affords only a temporary protection from sea erosion but does not address erosion or slumping of the ground above due to soil saturation. Whilst there is a project for further protection works in June 2022, it is not a ’permanent’ solution.

The council’s letter added: "As all caravans/mobile homes do not comply with building regulations, they are woefully inadequate in thermal insulation performance and of limited life expectancy.

"Finally, the caravans are stated as being for holiday use yet the owners’ website shows that they are already fully booked through 2022. There is therefore a likelihood that they may be used as residential lets."

Speaking as the applicant, not as a councillor, Mr Kravis told the Free Press that after the abrupt closure of the hotel due to the threat of cliff erosion an alternative was to provide static caravans for holiday lets. "We did put in for planning but that obviously took a long time.

"We put in for pre-planning twice but the trouble we’ve always had was that how could we put in an application when we didn’t know how much land we were going to be left with?

"We were in a very unusual position and it is only now that we actually know what the state of the site is likely to be.

"This planning application is really only the first step in formalising planning for the caravans and we are confident that it is compliant with the local plan. We are confident that any further objections will be dealt with by our agent and in any ongoing application.

"When a retrospective application comes forward there are always many different reasons and anybody who knows the history of Blue Anchor will know that we are in a very difficult situation here."

The planning committee will deal with the application at a future meeting.