A field on the outskirts of a Derbyshire village near East Midlands Airport has been unlawfully used to store lorries for nearly two years, say new plans.
The field, to the north of Barrow Lane, just east of Barrow upon Trent, has been used as emergency vehicle storage by AT Haulage for 22 months.
This is detailed in plans it has filed to South Derbyshire District Council in a bid to rectify the planning breach.
A decision will be made by the council in the next few months.
The documents show that AT Haulage had run out of space at its national headquarters in the Space Business Centre in Litchurch Lane, Derby.
They detail: “That site reached capacity leaving the company with an immediate need for a satellite site, hence the use of the land at Barrow Lane.
“Unfortunately the applicants, owing to the immediate and pressing need for additional yard space, moved onto the application site without the benefit of planning permission.
“This application therefore seeks to regularise the current situation and allow the continued use of the land as a haulage yard.
“The land has been used as a haulage yard for approximately 22 months, however this use unfortunately did not have the benefit of planning permission.”
The plans detail that the site would be used for 27 lorries and trailers with there currently four to five movements per day.
If approved, the vehicles would be lined up in a row horizontally, side by side, stemming from the back of the plot towards the front, taking up half the length of the field.
Fencing and lighting along with a small welfare unit would be built to accompany the parking.
A track across the field has been laid to access the storage area to the rear of the plot, alongside the railway line, with the rest of the field retaining its agricultural use.
The applicants said only some of the vehicle movements would pass through Barrow upon Trent and that the nearby Swarkestone Nursery and kennels and cattery represent existing commercial development in the countryside.
They detail: “The proposals are essential to the ongoing viability of the applicant’s business, which is well established and has outgrown its main base at Litchurch Lane, Derby.
“The proposals do not harm the character or appearance of their rural surroundings, would not detrimentally affect the amenities enjoyed by the occupiers of nearby dwellings and would not prejudice the safe or efficient use of the highway network.”
