A TEMPORARY building which houses a popular cafe at Lydney Harbour can remain for another five years.

planners say there should be no further renewals of the temporary permission for the “modular” building although they are keen a cafe remains

The application went before the Forest Council’s planning as it was being made by the council.

The building is home to the Hips Social cafe.

The council has a 10-lease from the Environment Agency which expires in 2031.

When the planning permission just given expires the district council will have become part of the new Gloucestershire unitary authority.

Councillors approved a five-year extension but the permission will have a note on it indicating that further temporary permissions should not be granted.

Chair of the council development control committee Cllr Dave Wheeler said he was concerned about “planning creep”.

Cllr Wheeler (Green, Newland and Sling) said: “When I saw the application, I was quite concerned, because it's what I call planning creep.

“You apply for something for five years, then you apply for it for five years more, then you apply for it for five years more, and so on.

“I don't think it is good that the Forest of Dean District Council is involved as the applicant in planning creep.

“I would, therefore, like to note an amendment from the chair that we put an informative on the permission, that it is unlikely that any further extension will be permitted, which might encourage the district council to pull its finger out, to put it bluntly.”

Cllr Stuart Graham (Independent, Cinderford East) was concerned that putting a restriction on further temporary permissions could risk the long-term future of a cafe at the harbour.

He said: “ In putting the amendment in, are we'not risking the possibility that the council can say in five years' time, we don't want to spend X amount of thousands of pounds building a new structure, so we're going to get rid of the cafe.

“We just want to make sure that that's not a possibility.”

Cllr Wheeler said: “ I think it is a possibility but we'd have to trust that the unitary authority will take sufficient notice of the importance of this facility.”

He added that the note on the permission should highlight the importance of the facility to visitors but also recognise the current building does not fit in with the historic harbour and therefore it would b unlikely that a further extension would be granted.

When the original permission was being considered in 2017, national conservation body Historic England suggested the temporary building be removed after five years and replaced with something more in keeping with the harbour.

The council planning officer dealing with the case noted at the time: “the ‘LPA (local planning authority) would doubtless set higher standards of design for a permanent building.”

One of the conditions on the 2017 permission was within five years the land would b reinstated by the removal of all structures to 100mm below ground level.