Herefordshire man wins bid to stay in caravan on farm

Graham Powell used to live in the farmhouse on Newton Lane before moving to the caravan after the farm was sold

A man who lives in a caravan on farmland has won an appeal to stay on the site after a planning row.

Graham Powell moved from the farmhouse into the caravan at Newton Farm, near Dorstone, in Herefordshire, after the holding was sold by the council.

Herefordshire Council then refused planning permission for the caravan, but Mr Powell successfully appealed.

The council has now allowed him to stay for two years until more suitable accommodation is found for him.

The farm holding was owned by the council until 2017, when Mr Powell argued there was "pressure to leave" from the new owner, prompting his decision to relocate to the caravan.

Mr Powell was originally told to leave by March this year after the council said he had "failed to demonstrate an essential functional need for the caravan to accommodate a residential presence in an unsustainable countryside location".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority said the caravan "does not accord" with its development strategy due to its distance from "everyday services and facilities".

However, Herefordshire Council acknowledged Mr Powell was likely to be made homeless if he was made to leave his caravan and its affordable housing provider would struggle to find him a new home within a year.

The planning committee made the decision to permit him to stay on the site for two years, after which time it said the caravan must be removed.