A boater says his access to his moorings has been blocked by a shipping container for more than a year failed to have his request to widen a footpath accepted.
Ivan Carter, 52, of Tring, Hertfordshire, owns The Moorings off Mill Green in Caversham, and applied to Reading Borough Council to provide vehicular access to the moorings.
He wanted to create a gravel access by widening the Mill Green footpath so he could drive to his moorings no more than six times a month during spring and summer, or around 72 trips a year.
Ninety one residents objected, and his application was rejected at a meeting of the council’s planning committee last week.
Mr Carter told the meeting that the Better Boating Company had ‘dumped’ a shipping container at the entrance to his moorings from at least Friday, January 15, 2021.
“They don’t have a right to put it there, it’s an eyesore and it’s on land they don’t own,” he said.
“They craned it over the fence of their business, which is bad from a health and safety point of view.”
Mr Carter’s planning agent David Lane said an access way had been used between 1978 to 2008.
However, planning officer Claire Ringwood recommended that it be refused as work to widen the path would be disruptive and provide limited benefits.
And there were suspicions that Mr Carter had an ulterior motive for creating the access.
Jacqueline Winston-Silk, a neighbour who objected, said: “There seems to be a real question mark over the future intended use over this piece of land.
“The applicant has no doubt spent lots of time, effort and money time to get to this point, and to me that doesn’t marry up with the notion of simply accessing his boat by vehicle.
“There is ample parking already that myself and other residents use and he is free to also use.”
Responding to that point to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Carter said: “I don’t know what the ulterior motive is. There had been vehicular access there in the past and I was trying to renew it.
“Vehicular access to the mooring would have made my life easier.
“I’ve put mains electricity, running water and a sewage system there, but so far I’ve had to do all that work with just a wheelbarrow.”
Staff at the Better Boating Company said the shipping container had been installed to prevent Mr Carter starting work on the access road before planning consent had been given.
They have told Mr Carter that the shipping container will be removed on Friday, February 11.
