A caravan park in Durham has been given its first certificate of lawfulness despite being in the same position since the end of the Second World War, according to the Northern Echo.
The certificate was handed out by Durham County Council’s planning committee, which will allow the park next to Finchale Abbey to continue in its operations.
Aerial photographs, sworn statements and rental records provided evidence of the longevity of the camping and caravanning park, which is currently home to 67 permanent residential caravans and 41 touring caravans.
Principal planning officer Peter Herbert was responsible for suggesting at the meeting at Easington that anecdotal evidence was available and that at no time had planning permission been sought in the past.
Meanwhile, the site has gone through an upgrading period relatively recently, as work was carried out in 2003 after a local fire officer and the council’s environmental health department were concerned about the condition of some of the caravans in use.
Finchale Abbey has been with its current owners since 1951 and lies within close proximity to the River Wear.
