Fruit firm loses cabins court bid

The caravans have been erected illegally, the council says

A fruit producer has failed to stop a council from taking legal action after the company refused to dismantle 300 illegally erected workers' caravans.

S&A Davies built the caravans without planning permission at its site near Leominster, Herefordshire, in 2004.

Two secretaries of state have since ordered it to remove them but it missed a deadline of 10 January to do so.

A High Court judge rejected its bid for an injunction stopping Herefordshire Council taking enforcement action.

'Acted properly'

The firm said it was "disappointed" by the High Court ruling and said it was considering an appeal.

It has two weeks in which to do so and the council has said it will not bring enforcement action until then.

Council Leader Roger Phillips said: "This decision shows we have acted properly throughout the planning process and we are pleased the judge's ruling has confirmed this.

"We will now have to wait for a decision on the appeal before deciding what further action we should take."