Bumper row of business units built without permission allowed to stay after year-long planning row

West Norfolk Council has granted retrospective planning permission for 19 shipping container "micro units" erected without authorisation on Edward Benefer Way in King's Lynn, bringing a year-long planning dispute to a close.

Committee members voted overwhelmingly — 11 to two — in favour of allowing the structures to remain, defying a recommendation from planning officers to reject the application.

Officers had argued the development would damage trade in the town centre and create traffic problems on one of the key routes into the Norfolk town.

The decision means the entire row of business units, which were constructed and occupied before any consent was sought, can now stay.

The containers, each measuring 5m by 2m, were installed at the front of a self storage facility on the site of a former fuel depot that had sat derelict for decades.

The park is operated by 1st Self Storage, which established the business on the disused land.

Council officers initially turned down the retrospective application, citing potential harm to town centre businesses and disruption to traffic flow.

As the authority weighed up possible enforcement action to have the units removed, 1st Self Storage lodged a second retrospective planning application. It was this submission that ultimately came before the committee for determination.

Councillor Austen Moore, who called the application in for committee scrutiny, championed the development's contribution to the local economy.

"They're micro units, we're not talking about Queensgate in Peterborough or the Vancouver Quarter," he told fellow members.

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"They're tiny, they're the size of your kitchen."

The committee heard that tenants occupying the units included a seamstress, a barber and a financial services administrator.

Since the majority of these businesses were service-based rather than retail, their effect on town centre traders would be minimal.

Mr Moore argued the application warranted closer examination to ensure the decision did not "deprive local people of work".

Highways officer Richard Smith raised concerns about the location, noting that Edward Benefer Way carries approximately 13,000 vehicles daily. He warned that motorists entering and exiting the site would impede traffic flow, posing a safety risk.

However, councillors were told that existing infrastructure — including two nearby sets of traffic lights and bus stops — already caused regular interruptions to the movement of vehicles along the road.

Councillor Brian Long dismissed the highways objection, saying: "Highways are always going to object to anything coming out on that route, but there are other measures causing the traffic to stop."

He added that the council ought to be supporting business growth, particularly given the site had been an eyesore for years.

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