The container that is (now) illegally placed in Grove Wood has recently been broken into and we have heard reports of drug dealing and even a mugging in the area around it. There is also a great deal of rubbish being strewn all over the entrance area. The owner has done nothing to clean up any of this or secure his container
[the container window has now been repaired and is secure again for the time being]. We understand that Bristol City Council are going ahead with proceedings against him for refusing to comply with the removal order. That order was served on him on September 24th and should have seen the container removed by October 22nd.
Photos taken from:
http://destructionofgrovewood.blogspot.com/You can read more about Grove Wood on that site.
Previously:
The ugly cabin that has been such an eyesore in Grove Wood has been moved.
It was here just this morning, but now it has gone. But don't get too excited. It is now further in the woods and has been rotated around by 90 degrees.
I'm not sure this is what the Council meant when they served a notice to remove the cabin. You were meant to remove it from the woods Mr Jafari, not move it further in.
6 comments:
We have had confirmation from Bristol City Council that they are going to prosecute the landowner for not removing the container from Grove Wood as he was ordered to do so some time ago. We understand that the slight movement of the container by the landowner does not, in the opinion of the Council, constitute a new development and so there are no grounds for keeping the container in the woods. Let's hope the landowner does the decent thing and gets that container out of the woods as he is required to by law.
However, the action by the landowner in moving the container has prompted the Council to remove Permitted Development Rights from Grove Wood. This means that, as well as the trees being protected, it is now practically impossible for the landowner to undertake anything significant in Grove Wood without first seeking planning permission.
This, we believe, is just how it should be.
The owner knows he's breaking the law (again) but hasn't complied with the order, indeed he's shown his contempt by moving the container further into the woods. What effect is the threat of a prosecution and fine going to have on him? It's anyone's guess. I think the council are going to have to get serious about taking this land from him and save us all a lot of wasted time and money.
I agree with Andy S. The landowner seems to enjoy playing silly games with the community and Bristol City Council. Grove Wood is too precious to be in the hands of someone like this.
I think PDR should have been removed in January 2008 when Jafari chopped trees down in this conservation area which the council know is inhabited by protected species. Anyway, it is great the council are taking the right action but I am sure that without the commitment of campaigners much more damage would have been done to the wood. I doubt Jafari will be granted any planning permission and there are clearly more advantages to it being in public ownership or being designated a local nature reserve. I wonder what this has cost the council and ultimately the tax payer to date?
So Rhino Limited is nothing to do with Mr Jafari? That made me laugh out loud!
Here is a link to a article the Evening Post ran about the container in Grove Wood.
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Shipping-container-lands-lord-court-planning-charge/article-1781108-detail/article.html
Here's the Evening Post article as the link doesn't work:
A landowner is due in court charged with breaking planning rules for failing to remove an 'eyesore' storage container from riverside woodland in Stapleton.
Lord Houshang Jafari will appear before Bristol Magistrates' Court next month to face an allegation that he failed to remove a temporary building from Grove Wood despite being ordered to move it by the city council in September last year.
Campaigners who have protested over tree-felling in the woodland next to Snuff Mills Park believe the blue and white metal 'shipping container' should be removed because it ruins the look of the area.
Steve Micklewright, chairman of Snuff Mills Action Group, said: "It's right at the entrance to the wood and it's an eyesore. It has been broken into and someone was living in it over the winter. It's making the woodland ugly and it's serving no purpose. We've been campaigning for its removal because the woodland is in a conservation area.
"It's good the council is trying to act on it."
Mr Micklewright said the temporary building first appeared in May 2008 and has only been used on a handful of occasions. He said it was moved, but only further into the woodland, once the city council ordered it be removed in September last year.
Grove Wood, which is part of a Conservation Area next to the River Frome, has been at the centre of a long-running row between residents and Lord Jafari.
It was bought by Lord Jafari at public auction in November 2007 and part of it was felled without permission in January 2008. A woodland tree preservation order was made on it in April last year, protecting it from further felling.
Campaigners are now calling for the council to make a footpath in the upper part of the woods a designated public footpath.
John Mair, agent for Lord Jafari, said the alleged breach of planning rules was nothing to do with Lord Jafari and was connected with his company Rhino Group Limited, which he says owns the woodland.
Mr Mair said: "We will defend ourselves. This is not a breach of the regulations. We've not done anything wrong and we are only trying to run our business. We are trying to clean up the woodland and the riverbank. We are planning to reinstate styles and walls which have fallen down.
"We have an obligation to manage the woodland and ensure safety on the public right of way. The container is used for equipment used to clear a public right of way, to cut up wood and also for a generator to keep our guys warm when they are working.
"We bought the woodland for our own private reasons and want to look after it. Before we had it, the land and public right of way wasn't being looked after."
Lord Jafari, of Downleaze, Sneyd Park, is due to enter a plea to the allegation before city magistrates on February 17.
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