MATERIALS that were stored on land at a farm without permission will have to be cleared after a planning appeal was lost.

Blaenau Gwent council issued an enforcement notice after an 'unauthorised' change of use of land at Chapel Farm in Coalbrookvale, Nantyglo.

The site is located within a Special Landscape Area (SLA) and within a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).

The enforcement notice, issued on August 31 last year, required all materials - including palettes, crates, water containers, timber, a steel container, machinery, a pool table, tiles, patio slabs, timber fencing, glass and steel frames - to be removed within three months.

But an appeal was lodged against the decision, arguing the time given to comply with the notice was too short.

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A report by planning inspector, Melissa Hall, said the appeal complained about delays by the council in dealing with discussions, including enquiries about using an outbuilding for storage.

"The slow process is cited as a justification for needing extra time to progress a planning application together with delays incurred as a result of the terrible winter weather and essential storm damage repairs that had to be carried out," Ms Hall writes.

It was also argued that the materials would have otherwise gone to landfill sites, but that there was a " foreseeable use" for everything in the future.

However Blaenau Gwent council said the proposed extension of an outbuilding would have likely been refused by planners because of its visual impact on the Special Landscape Area.

The inspector's report said the applicant had tried to comply with the notice, but that the time required for a planning application to be submitted and determined would be lengthy.

Ms Hall said she had considered the private property interest of the appeal and the public interest of "bringing to an end the identified harm to the character and appearance of the area without unnecessary delay" in making the decision.

"There is no compelling evidence before me which persuades me that labour requirement for removing the materials is such that a three month period for carrying out the works would be insufficient or that a longer time period would allow for more of the materials to be salvaged," Ms Hall adds in her report.

Materials have to be cleared within three months of the inspector's decision which was issued on February 27.