L..... L..... Farm,
Warren Lane,
Lydden,
Dover,
Kent. CT15 ...
Department
of the Environment,
Room 908,
Tollgate House,
Houlton Street,
Bristol BS2 9DJ.
Yr.ref.
APP/X2220/C/85/885.
2nd
September 1985
Dear Sir,
The
Oaks (formerly The Bungalow),
Warren
Lane, Lydden, Dover, Kent.
While recognising absolutely the need for planning
regulations, particularly in respect of development in rural areas, I am
of the opinion that due regard should be given to the historic use made of any particular
area and
the fate that may befall it should the traditional use be abandoned.
The site known as 'The Oaks' has traditionally been the
location of a dwelling which in recent years has been used only as holiday
accommodation. In the immediate past it has not been occupied at all.
It seems to me that in repeatedly refusing to grant
planning permission for the site, Dover District Council has sought to
change the status of that small area without offering any satisfactory
explanation for its action
and is now seeking to prevent its rehabilitation by means of renovation. To
remove the residential status of a property by virtue of the fact that it
is unoccupied, without establishing abandonment and/or, its unsuitability
for human habitation and seeking a closing order, is to create a precedent
that will cause concern to all owners of unoccupied property in the area.
While recognising the desirability of not adding to the
rural population by allowing developments for residential use I can see no justification for contributing to
de-population in what is already a sparsely populated area.
As I have indicated the property has, in recent times,
been used as a holiday home by virtue of which it has been unoccupied for much of the year. A fact which
has become known and has led to the property being broken into on a
number of occasions, a situation that has in turn led to the adjacent
property, itself unoccupied for much of the year, and my own property to
be visited by thieves.
Since ‘The Oaks’ has been occupied there have been fewer incidents.
In the event
that the Enforcement Notice is upheld I fear the abandoned site will be
used as a dumping ground for household refuse as have so many similar
sites in remote rural areas.
The site is
wedge shaped and surrounded by mature oaks which would have to be removed
if the site were to be brought into agricultural use, such a course would
be uneconomic and detrimental to the environment.
Should it be decided that the work carried out on 'The
Oaks’ requires Planning Permission, I urge that it be granted retrospectively in order that the 'status
quo' be maintained and the problems I have outlined, avoided.
Yours sincerely,
K.... F.....
