blamed for mega shed

1957 ruling 'monstrous'

- BY FILIPA GASPAR

RESIDENTS are fuming over a massive “mega shed” being built in their village without proper consultation, using a controversial rule from 1957.

Irate locals say the 500,000 sqft warehouse is a “monstrosity” which blights the area and has robbed them of their views and sunlight.

The 20m (65ft) high facility has been described as like a “large prison”, which is floodlit at night.

Residents say they weren't consulted about the “industrial distribution hub” in Pilning, Gloucestershire, due to a planning consent dating back to 1957.

The 1957 scheme was part of a postwar building drive and allows developers to go ahead with an application in the area without fully consulting residents. It was originally meant to boost the chemical, storage and distribution industries. And the “consent” also means councillors are prohibited from taking into account many of the issues raised by residents. Estate agents estimate nearby homes have been devalued by up to 10 per cent.

Simone Harrison, 55, and husband Ricky, 51, say for 13 years all they could see there was wildlife.

But now the warehouse looms over them.