Furious dad banned from parking on his own driveway by council after complaints

A fuming dad has been banned from parking his vintage motorhome on his own driveway - after council bosses said it was "damaging the area".

Mike Perkins has spent 14 years restoring his beloved 1972 Ford Transit Landliner CI, which he calls his "pride and joy". The 63-year-old kept the motorhome on his driveway outside his end-terraced home in Worcester but has now been ordered to move it following complaints.

The dad-of-three has received a letter from Worcester City Council saying the van "damages the amenity of the area". Mike said: "My initial thoughts were this is 'David and Goliath' and I'm David.

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"If someone said to you, you could not park on your own drive, what would you do? I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. I can't understand the lengths they are going to."

His immediate neighbours called it "ridiculous" while another hailed the classic camper a "local landmark".

The council said it had received "numerous complaints about the appearance of the front garden" due to the "dilapidated vehicle".

Council officials said they received the first complaint in August 2020 and confirmed the van was "having a detrimental effect on local amenity".

Mike was issued with a notice, under section 2015 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, ordering him to comply with the order by November 20 last year.

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He has appealed the order and will represent himself when the civil case heard in court next month. Mike added: "The irony is that during its restoration, I received much support from passers-by.

"This project is now more about the right to park your own vehicle on your own driveway."

A council spokesperson said: "We spoke to the owner about the problem but were unable to reach an agreement for the area to be tidied. Council officers issued a tidy-up notice which required the vehicle and trailer to be removed from the driveway and the waste to be tidied up.

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"The owner has made an appeal against the tidy-up notice and we are awaiting the outcome of it. This matter has been handled under normal council procedures.

"No individual councillors are involved in decisions to progress enforcement cases."