‘UGLY and obtrusive’ car stacking racks installed on the edge of people’s back gardens have been ruled unlawful by a council.

Former Poole councillor Malcolm Farrell had described the structures as “so, so unfair” on those living in Ringwood Road and St George's Avenue which back onto the Charles Trent car recycling site.

The firm had argued the racks, which are up to 8m high, were within rules which did not require planning permission but a BCP Council planning officer has ruled against them.

Bournemouth Echo:

People living in the two roads had argued that their views were being “ruined” by the steel structures and raised concerns about the fire risk.

In January the firm, which processes about 50,000 vehicles each year, applied for a ‘lawful development certificate’ for its work, including the location of the racks.

Among the objectors were Mr and Mrs Chaffey who described the racks as “dominant”.

Bournemouth Echo:

“They [Charles Trent] are in the process of erecting car stacking systems adjacent to the bottom of gardens,” they said.

“The racking system is fixed to the ground and, with the vehicles loaded, is approximately 10m high which changes our views and landscape.

“These vehicles on the racking system are now clearly dominant and within 2m of ours and our neighbours’ gardens.

“In doing this they are taking away our right to enjoy the view from our bungalow and garden that we have enjoyed for the past 35 years.”

And the application has now been refused after planning officer Sarah Scannell said their “significant size, permanence and degree of physical attachment” meant the racks constituted a building.

The decision means that planning permission will now be required.

Charles Trent said it would have a meeting with its planning consultants before deciding what its next steps will be.

In a statement, the firm said: "The racks do not have any of the characteristics of or could be reasonably regarded as buildings.

"We are consulting our legal and planning representatives now that we have received the councils legal argument, which  explains their counter position.

"We are also liaising with the council regarding the steps they could take that would result in the racks remaining on site lawfully, taking into consideration the councils view that the racks are buildings."

It adds: "For the avoidance of doubt, it must be noted that the storage of cars on this site without restriction is lawful, cars were previously stacked on top of one another without restriction and the racks allow the storage to take place more efficiently with less noise from extracting cars from storage.”

The firm is already working on a significant expansion of the business which it has described as the largest in its 90-year history.

The £7.5 million project would see its warehouses replaced by a single larger building which would house its vehicle dismantling work.