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Car park 'scenery blight' case to go to High Court

Simon Fernandes An ariel view of Manningtree Station railway and car park with countryside on the rightSimon Fernandes
The Dedham Vale Society said the station car park had turned a "Constable landscape" into an "industrial wasteland"

A campaign against a railway car park with "a forest of lights" and "Berlin Wall" is being brought to the High Court.

The Dedham Vale Society in Essex said the "insensitive development" at Manningtree station was a "blight" on a landscape made famous by painter John Constable.

It has been given leave to take legal action, claiming the development by rail operator Greater Anglia should not have gone ahead without planning permission.

Greater Anglia said it had been allowed "to rely on permitted development rights", while the Planning Inspectorate could not comment with "a judicial review pending".

Mike Barrett A large car park with multiple street lights, shown at night with the lights on and a barrier down the middleMike Barrett
Astronomer Mike Barrett said a "forest of lights" caused more light pollution than the entire town of Manningtree

Chair of the Society Charles Clover admitted more parking space was needed, but said the society objected to "how it’s done".

"You see how well the railway fitted into the landscape, and how badly this new development does. They didn’t care how it looked from the outside, didn’t care it was a rusty wall with no hedge or screening," he said.

The society said the 200-yard-long wall "compromises enjoyment of the St Edmund Way pilgrimage footpath and the lighting affects the proposed dark sky status of the whole National Landscape."

It said research by local astronomer Mike Barrett, from Polstead in Suffolk, showed the station car park emitted two or three times more light pollution than the whole of Manningtree.

Charles Clover A road running through the countryside with a tall brown steel wall on the right sideCharles Clover
Greater Anglia said the car park was expanded to "cope with demand" but critics say its huge wall spoils the landscape

An inspector under the previous government found in favour of Greater Anglia after the development had been built, the society said.

Mr Clover said "our little society could become bankrupt" as it took the case to judicial review.

"People are quite cross about this not only locally but nationally. This decision made under the last government is a disgrace, and I’m hoping this government will see it and unpick it."

A Greater Anglia spokesperson said: "It would not be appropriate for Greater Anglia to comment in any detail given that the litigation is ongoing."

The court claim "relates to an alleged legal error in the Secretary of State’s decision that the car park extension does not require an Environmental Impact Assessment," the spokesperson added.

"There was no error," the spokesperson said, and the Secretary of State made the right decision.

"This means that Greater Anglia is able to rely on permitted development rights that benefit railway operators, and therefore there was no need for planning permission for the car park extension."

A Planning Inspectorate spokesperson said: "As a judicial review is pending, we are not in a position to comment."

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