Update from Simon Bailey BA MSc
Team Leader – Heritage & Planning Compliance
Babergh Mid-Suffolk Council
My sincere apologies for the delay in responding to you. We are extremely busy in Planning Enforcement, and Heritage, and the knock-on effect is that it is taking some time to respond to matters coming our way. I can only apologise.
The Gate Farm case remains active as an investigation. We have received information from colleagues in the Shared Revenues Partnership over at Ipswich Borough Council regarding residents of the site who are paying Council Tax. We will also be making enquiries with colleagues in our Electoral Services team to establish if any residents are registered at the site for voting purposes. We will then assess all that information for an indication of permanent residential use, and if any permanent residential use goes beyond what is permitted at the site.
With regard to the delivery of 40 caravans to the site, if there is no planning permission in place at the time of delivery the placement of the caravans will, of course, constitute a breach of planning control. Unfortunately, we are not able to take action against a breach which has not yet happened.