A dad has won his 'David and Goliath' battle against a council to park his vintage campervan called ‘Bunty’ on his driveway. Mike Perkins has spent 14 years restoring his beloved 1972 Ford Transit Landliner CI so he can take his family on camping holidays.
The 63-year-old kept the motorhome on his drive outside his home in Worcester but was ordered to move it following a number of complaints. Last month the dad-of-three received a letter from Worcester City Council telling him his “dilapidated” van “damages the amenity of the area”.
He was handed a section 215 notice of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 banning him from parking the van, and two other vehicles, in front of his house. Mike removed a Mini pickup and a trailer from his property but appealed against the ban against parking Bunty on his driveway.
He was due to appear in Worcester Civil Court on Tuesday but he has now won his ‘David and Goliath’ battle after the council backed down. A solicitor's letter to Mike dated May 9 said: "Having assessed the current condition of the campervan, officers are satisfied that it is no longer dilapidated and can be returned to the land."
Mike said he had already cleared up the driveway in February and cleaned the vehicles. He added: "The really terrible thing is that the vehicle doesn't look any different now to what it did in February after it was jet washed.
"Externally it doesn't look any different. I feel relieved. If I had hired a barrister it would have cost me £2,500. Common sense prevailed at the 11th hour." He said repairing the vehicle had delayed the renovation of his home by three months.
The work on the motorhome is still underway but so far he has spent £250 on new brakes, £75 on a fuel tank and £75 on a new carburetor. Mike added: "The irony is that during its restoration, I received much support from passers-by.”
He said the council had not provided evidence of any complaints and “close neighbours consider the vehicles a talking point and have no other issue.” He also argued that the campervan created more of a problem on the road, where it reduced available parking, than on his own drive.
The council declined to comment. A spokesperson previously said: “Council officers issued a tidy-up notice which required the vehicle and trailer to be removed from the driveway and the waste to be tidied up.”
