The owner of a Kempston business was unaware that they didn’t have planning permission until a noise complaint was made.
Bedford Borough Council has received an application to convert 1A Tempsford Street from a commercial premises to a vehicle workshop.
The applicant’s agent said the planning application was “formulated” following a formal complaint citing noise nuisance and excessive business working hours sent to the council’s Planning Enforcement department.
The agent added that the applicant “quite innocently” occupied the site in 2017 with the intention of trading in a “similar vein to those prior businesses”.
The applicant has had “no cause or reason” to suspect he was contravening planning legislation until he was approached by planning enforcement.
The application states that the business will now be open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 2pm on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays.
The applicant’s agent said the business has been successfully trading for over seven years “without ill effect” to the local area at large.
However, an objector to the application said there have been a “large number” of vehicles parked on either Tempsford Street or Stuart Street.
“Some of their vehicles have been parked for many months,” they wrote on the council’s planning portal.
“This has caused some safety issues on the street.
“This issue is made worst [sic] as often the mechanics tend to accelerate cars on Tempsford Street,” they claimed.
More information can be found on the council’s planning portal, reference 24/01502/S73A.
The overall consultation expiry date is Wednesday, 4 September 2024.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
