BARNSLEY Council is says it is prepared to take legal action if a housing developer does not re-lay hundreds of driveways at four housing estates across Barnsley which breach planning conditions.
Gleeson Homes prefers to lay driveways made of gravel rather than a solid surface, and flouted a condition of its planning consent requiring ‘solid-bound material’ on estates at Lundwood, Wombwell, Goldthorpe and Bolton-upon-Dearne. The argument was tested in five separate planning appeals last year - the council winning all five.
Following that the council took enforcement action urging Gleeson to re-lay the drives but no work has started.
This week Barnsley Council told the Chronicle it was prepared to seek a prosecution, which could result in fines, and ultimately if that does not work, to seek an injunction forcing the firm to do the work.
It follows this week’s planning meeting, where the council refused planning permission for an extension of 97 homes at its Bolton site.
Residents at the Lundwood estate said they were pleased the council was taking the matter seriously.
Sarah Mosley, 23, of Ellwood, Lundwood, said the gravel was a much bigger inconvenience that she initially thought.
“It gets dirty, it doesn’t stay on the drive, plants and weeds grow through it and it just looks untidy,” she said.
Several parts of the estate have shared drives and turning areas made of gravel, serving up to five properties, which, while classed as drives, are ‘effectively part of the estate’s road network’ according to residents.
“When we first looked at the showhome, there was just a little bit of gravel outside the house,” said Sarah. “But ours is a shared drive, it’s a much bigger area than we thought.”
Neighbour Graham Parker, 54, said: “I don’t mind the driveway outside the house too much, but this shared driveway really ought to be properly paved. It’s basically a road. It gets a fair amount of traffic and the gravel gets pulled off.
“It was specified it had to be hard standing so they should put it right.”
Coun Roy Miller, a spokesman for the council’s ruling cabinet, said: “Now we have determined that Gleeson’s revised driveway specification is unacceptable and, given that the breach of condition notices have still not been complied with, the next stage in the enforcement process is to seek a prosecution for non-compliance with the notices.
“We had hoped this wouldn’t be necessary but we do now feel we have reached a point where enforcement action needs to escalate.
“This is particularly as the dispute relates to driveway specification, which can easily be remedied. Accordingly, these will only be considered if we reach the point of having exhausted all other options.”
A spokesman for Gleeson said it would be appealing this week’s decision to refuse the 97 homes at Bolton, which it had included a revised specification for driveways using a mixture of gravel and some flagstones, but the council said this still posed a risk of gravel escaping onto the road, and would be unsightly.
A Gleeson spokesman added: “It is such a shame that both the officers and members of BMBC have such a disregard for the environment.”
