Residents Parking Under Sylva Court - Only 1 in 24 Cars Belong To A Resident In The Block!

Council orders owners to stop using the premises for commercial parking

The council had ordered the owners of the garage block at Sylva Court to stop using the premises for commercial parking. The garage's 24 spaces are currently rented out for between £1800 and £2400 a year. Only one is occupied up by a Sylva Court resident.

The commercial activity started in 2004 following refurbishment of the garage by its new owners. Following complaints by residents of Sylva Court and Ross Court - which shares the access road - the council took enforcement action to return the area to its previous use.

Government planning inspector Colin Johnson upheld the council's intervention. He ruled (October 23) that the original planning permission was for a car park that was 'an integral part of a sizeable residential development.'

He added that the commercial activity had introduced an enterprise 'into the confines of an established residential enclave with which it had no functional relationship.'

The council's planning applications chairman Leslie McDonnell said:

"The inspector's decision is good news for residents of both Sylva Court and Ross Court who had genuine security concerns about strangers coming into their grounds. If you live in a block with underground parking it is reasonable to expect that those spaces are there for the residents. In this case the whole area had been turned into a commercial operation with rents to match."

The inspector said the existing garage users should have four months in which to remove their vehicles.

October 30, 2007