PLANNING restrictions that have prohibited a Sutton family from renting out their caravans to the public for almost 40 years have been relaxed by East Cambridgeshire District Council.

A group of three caravans first arrived on land at The Orchards, in Ely Road, back in the 1950s after a house fire burned down a residential property on the site.

Planning permission for the caravans was formally granted to Mrs E Bibby by the Isle of Ely County Council in October 1972, and subsequent permission for the caravans to remain on the site indefinitely was granted in 1975.

Strict added conditions were imposed by the authority with the permission, however, which stated that the caravans were not to be used by anyone other than Mrs Bibby and her dependants, forbidding non-family members from moving onto the site.

Some 40 years on however, and Mr and Mrs A Bibby applied to the district council to have the condition removed so that they could finally offer the housing to residents in need of affordable accommodation.

The application was opposed by both Sutton Parish Council and a neighbour of the site, who called for outright refusal.

In a letter to the authority, legal practitioners Hewitsons, said that the applicants were no longer satisfying the original planning conditions and therefore “no one has the right to park caravans on the site any longer”.

Planning officers at the council disagreed however, granting permission for the condition restricting use of the site to dependants of Mrs E Bibby to be removed.

Case officer Penelope Mills, said in her report: “Allowing the caravans to be used by those other than Mrs Bibby and her dependants will add to the mix of lower-cost accommodation in the area.

“It will also allow the council to impose better conditions obtaining specific landscaping and details of siting which will have a positive impact on the character and appearance of the area.”