Solent Breeze chalet owners in Warsash face jail threat (From Daily Echo)

Solent Breeze chalet owners in Warsash face jail threat

2:34pm Wednesday 4th November 2009 in

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A GROUP of residents could risk imprisonment if they continue to occupy their holiday chalets all year round.

Owners of a number of units at Solent Breezes, near Warsash, have been locked in a row with planners over whether they should be permitted to live there permanently.

Now they could end up being forced out of the holiday park for part of the year or even put behind bars if they fail to comply with a court injunction that Fareham Borough Council is looking to secure.

Council bosses say that they need to take action to ensure that the site is retained as a holiday park rather than for residential use in accordance with a long-standing legal agreement.

A decision on whether to apply for the court injunction is to be made by members of the council’s planning development control committee today.

Earlier this year, the residents in question led by chalet owner Marilyn Norman, failed in a bid to overrule a long-standing agreement stating that they should not live in the chalets permanently.

Their case has stoked controversy in the village, with many residents upset at people living full-time in the chalets.

Last year, the group of owners successfully gained certificates of lawfulness after proving that they had been in the scenic bungalows for more than ten years.

But in January the council’s planning development control committee unanimously rejected their calls for deeds of release from the 1966 agreement – allowing them to sell on the properties as permanent homes.

One owner, Mike Fenner, said that the injunction would not affect him as he stayed at the park only during allotted weekend and holiday periods.

But he questioned the logic of the council’s approach, adding: “I can’t tell you how strongly I feel that the council is wrong in taking this action.”