A SPALDING businessman has lost another round in his seven year battle to develop land in Moulton Chapel.
Sam Kandola’s latest application – the fifth to be rejected since 2005 – involved creating a lorry park and providing a shop, cafe, toilets and an area for cars and caravans with a picnic area.
But planning committee councillors threw it out by 9-3 votes on Wednesday after deciding it was unsuitable for the site in Moulton Chapel Road.
Mr Kandola’s agents, East Midlands Design Associates, asked for a decision to be deferred so they could reply to council environmental health officers, who raised “serious concerns over the potential for disturbance to neighbours from noise, light and dust”.
Coun Angela Newton wanted the decision deferred, saying the plan had been with environmental health for several months before they responded.
She said: “This is supported by our economic development team. There’s no objections from county highways. I think we are going to have problems if we turn this down without a proper hearing.”
Committee chairman Coun Roger Gambba-Jones fully accepted that “there are concerns about the administrative handling” but that didn’t mean whole thing had to be deferred as some elements were repeated from previous plans.
He said the shop wasn’t acceptable before and “it isn’t now”.
Coun Gambba-Jones said an offer to limit overnight hours of opening for the lorry park still wouldn’t make it acceptable and it would be impractical for drivers finishing late or starting early.
Coun Francis Biggadike said: “From my point of view, any lorry park that can’t deliver 24-hour services isn’t worth its salt. If the applicant can prove that he can open 24 hours without causing nuisance then that’s a different story.”
The committee said the site was unsuitable for a lorry park as it would harm residential amenity through noise of vehicles entering, leaving and manoeuvring – and there would be noise from vehicle refrigeration units.
They also said the proposed lorry park surface would also have potential to create dust.
Mr Kandola declined to comment on the committee decision.
l Applications previously rejected were a golf driving range, retail and hot food use and two plans for a village store and allotments.