Official to visit site of allotment sheds ban near Rugeley
A government inspector will next week visit a village allotment where gardeners have been banned from having potting sheds.
The official trip to Plum Pudding Allotments, near Rugeley, is expected to finally settle the row between farmer Paul Boston, owner of the site, and district council officers who say the sheds need planning permission.
The plot holders are adamant that the sheds are essential for storing their tools and other equipment and are backing Mr Boston who is 'optimistic' about the outcome.
He and Lichfield District Council enforcement officer Christine Hibbs are due to meet the government planning inspector at the Armitage with Handsacre site on Tuesday. Mr Boston said:
"We will know one way or another very soon now.
"I've been down and cut the hedge and the bank, and all but five of the sheds have been painted green, so everything is looking good.
"I've put up rails and planted fir trees to block the view of the allotments from neighbours. We've only had one letter of objection from a resident compared to 400 signatures on a petition and 30 letters in support of keeping the site kept as it is, sheds and all.
"I'm looking forward to the end of this saga and only hope that good sense will prevail."
Growers were told 20 months ago that they needed permission for their sheds because they are in the green belt. The site is also next to the Trent & Mersey Canal conservation area.
Mr Boston was warned that if he failed to obtain approval, an enforcement notice would be issued by the council. He has ignored the document and appealed directly to the planning inspectorate in Bristol. The 66-year-old argues that a neighbouring allotment site, owned by Rugeley power station, has sheds and that he should not be treated any differently.
Tenants on the 105-plot site, next to The Plum Pudding pub, formed an association to fight their case.
The plots were quickly filled after Mr Boston set up the allotment in March 2011 and the parish council subsequently approved the sheds.
But district council officers carrying out a survey six months later took exception to the 44 sheds. They wrote to Mr Boston about the 'cumulative impact' on the visual amenity. Yobs ransacked the site in February, breaking into eight sheds and damaging the perimeter fence.
CCTV cameras and security lights were later installed.
