Dawlish News

A bureaucratic error that enabled a Devon couple to run a camping business in a preservation area has been rectified in the High Courts - seven years later.Alfred and Joan Jeffrey were granted temporary permission from July 31 to August 22 1999 for visitors hoping to see that year's eclipse to stay in touring caravans and tents at the Seaway Touring Park, Warren Road, Dawlish. But it was not until a further application for a permanent toilet and shower block was lodged in 2003 that it came to light that Teignbridge District Council had inadvertently granted unlimited permission for permanent tented camping. It issued a discontinuance order seeking to rectify the position, and this decision was confirmed by the Secretary of State on the recommendation of an inspector. But the Jeffreys argued that it was wrong to pick on their touring park when there were others in the Coastal Preservation Area of Teignbridge. They claimed among other things that the action against them amounted to a breach of their human rights. However, yesterday in a High Court Judge said the order should stand, stripping the Jeffreys of the right to run their camping business on the 7.1-hectare site.