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• Macclesfield farmer and haulier Geoffrey Bailey has won an increased vehicle authorisation with no further restriction, despite objections from Macclesfield Borough Council and neighbouring residents.
Bailey had applied to increase the authorisation on his licence from four vehicles and one trailer to six vehicles and one trailer, and to remove a condition that no more than three vehicles be specified on the licence at any one time. He was content with an existing condition that no vehicle should exceed 32.5 tonnes gross.
He told North Western LA Martin Albu that two of the vehicles were tippers and were used for outside haulage work as well as on the farm.
The additional vehicle would be a 7.3m flat for the haulage of straw from Lincolnshire, and a slurry tanker. The tanker was needed as the police had threatened to prosecute him for holding up the traffic while moving slurry between farms with agricultural tractors and trailers.
Lawrence Isted, the Borough Council's chief planning officer, said the operating centre at Higher Fence Farm, Hurdsfield did not have planning permission for general haulage. The access road was a private road with public access.
The council objected on the grounds that the parking of the vehicles would cause unacceptable visual intrusion on an area of landscape significance.
If a licence were to be granted, the council wanted the existing conditions to remain, with extra conditions limiting the times during which vehicle movement and maintenance were allowed, banning vehicles from entering from the south along Barretts Lane, and requir ing that the vehicles be parked under cover.
Two local residents complained about noise and being woken early, and expressed concern about safety. They maintained that the road was never meant for regular use by HGVs, and claimed never to have seen the tippers used for agricultural purposes. Bailey said the vehicles were necessary to haul in produce if the farm were to be a viable proposition. The high cost of investment and road tax meant that they had to be used for outside work.
Granting the application Albu said he did not feel that any additional conditions would be reasonable.