Transport business seeks council's blessing after warning letter -- latest Ashfield plans
A long-standing business in Kirkby is hoping to ratify a change of location after receiving a warning letter from the council.
CC Refrigeration Ltd is a highly respected transport refrigeration specialist, which has been in operation in Ashfield for more than 30 years. It has ten employees, eight of whom live within the district.
The company says its experienced and qualified engineers take pride in delivering quality servicing, installation and 24-hour breakdown services across the Midlands.
Their work essentially consists of installing, servicing and maintaining fridges and freezers, including air-conditioning, on transport vehicles for a range of industries. It also repairs buses.
Run by Richard Speight, the business previously operated on a mobile basis, with its headquarters located at his home in Kirkby.
However, the space was not suitable or large enough for expansion, so an alternative site was found on land next to High Cliff at Park Lane on the border of Kirkby and Selston, close to the M1.
Work started there in April but, the following month, Mr Speight received a letter from George Spence, compliance and enforcement officer at Ashfield District Council, pointing out that such use of the 1.2-acre section of the site, which sits within the Green Belt, was unauthorised.
Now Mr Speight’s fellow director of CC Refrigeration, Kerry Ann Scott, has submitted a planning application for a change of use of the land from agricultural to commercial in the form of a storage yard, workshop, portacabin and two storage containers.
A planning statement has been compiled by the company’s agent, Berkshire-based consultancy ET Planning, which argues that the overall site already has a long history of commercial use, as well as agricultural. For more than 50 years, going back to the 1940s, part of it also operated as a coal-stocking yard.
ET says the CC Refrigeration site would open from 8 am to 5 pm on Mondays to Fridays. It insists that the number of vehicles at the yard at any one time would be kept to a minimum, while noise levels would be restricted.
The council’s planning officers are now considering the proposal and have set a deadline date of Wednesday, November 19 for a decision or recommendation.
Other planning applications received by Ashfield Council in recent days include these:
116 Station Road, Selston – dwelling.
10 De Morgan Close, Underwood – work to oak tree covered by preservation order.
The Stables, 82A Lower Bagthorpe, Bagthorpe – self-build dwelling.
44 Station Road, Sutton – change of use from retail to open storage.
1 Tudsbury Terrace, Sutton – outbuilding.
4 Plumb Road, Hucknall – demolition of garage, and construction of two-storey side extension and single-storey rear extension.
THE details of many planning applications can be found in public notices advertised by local and regional newspapers. To catch up on all the latest public notices, go to https://publicnoticeportal.uk/