The future of four Somerset carnivals is hanging in the balance once more as the local authority prepares to debate plans for a new storage facility for a second time.
The South Somerset carnival circuit comprises the towns of Chard, Ilminster, Taunton and Wellington, with dozens of local groups building and entering carts each year before the coronavirus pandemic.
Ilminster Town Council, in association with the South Somerset Carnival Park Committee, put forward plans for a new facility just outside the town where carnival floats could be constructed and stored.
South Somerset District Council approved these plans in late-January but has now been forced to reconsider its decision following a judicial review.
The next steps will be outlined to councillors at a meeting of the council’s area west committee on December 7.
The plans concern a new facility to be constructed on Longforward Lane in the hamlet of Knightstone, around two miles from Ilminster town centre.
The new building will be subdivided into five units, with three being occupied by the larger clubs on the circuit and the other two being made available to smaller clubs, majorettes and other volunteers.
Kane Ellis of the Eclipse Carnival Club in Chard said in January securing the new premises was “an absolute necessity” to secure their future.
The judicial review was brought against the council by the charity CPRE Somerset, with Mr Justice Chamberlain ruling on November 8 that the council had “unlawfully” approved the application.
He ruled that two members of the area west committee – Brian Hamilton (who represents Ilminster and sits on the town council) and Jason Baker (Chard Holyrood, and a former member of the Chard Carnival Committee) were “tainted by apparent bias”.
As such, these two gentlemen “approached the planning application with closed minds so that the decision to grant planning permission was predetermined.”
CPRE Somerset said it supported the carnival tradition in Somerset, but said it was wrong to “impose a large-scale industrial building on a rural parish in the open countryside, against the wishes and interests of the local community.”
The charity said that “greater efforts” should be made to secure a more suitable site on brownfield land in or near one of the four affected towns.
Chairman Hugh Williams: “We are pleased that the High Court has agreed with us and quashed the decision.
“Ensuring planning decisions are taken lawfully is crucial for everyone involved in the planning system, and we look forward to seeing this matter re-addressed in the correct way by the council in due course.”
The council’s area west committee will consider the next steps for the carnival plans when it meets in Chard on December 7 at 5.30pm.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm a report outlining the judgement will go to the next area west committee on December 7, where members will consider the next steps. We will provide more details as and when these are available.”
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