Man who lived in caravan for 30 years without planning permission is allowed to stay

A man who has lived in a caravan without planning permission for 30 years has been allowed to stay there.

Clive Hetherington has lived at Warreston Lodge in Cosheston, Pembrokeshire, since 1996, despite the caravan not being officially recognised as a home.

The mobile home sits on land owned by Wendy Campbell, who bought the neighbouring Warreston Farm in 2003.

She allowed Hetherington to stay there and later applied for permission to keep the caravan as a home because he had lived there for so many years.

Pembrokeshire County Council approved the application, saying the caravan had been used as a home for well over the required 10 years.

Through Preseli Planning Ltd, Campbell applied for a certificate of lawfulness which lets someone stay at a development if they can prove they have lived there over an extended period.

The application showed Hetherington had lived there openly since 1996, with electricity bills, a postal address, council records, rent payments and aerial photos used as evidence.

Documents also confirmed he lived there independently and had no connection to Warreston Farm, even before Campbell owned the land.

"The caravan has been openly used, and no attempt has been made to conceal the development at any time, since its occupation as a residential unit in 1996," the submission added.

An officer report recommending the granting of the certificate said: "Whilst the rent book evidence does not extend to the full period claimed, it nonetheless demonstrates occupation over a period significantly exceeding 10 years.

"The pattern and consistency of the entries, together with site observations, support the conclusion that the use has not been abandoned or interrupted."