A RETIRED town planner accused former colleagues at Fenland District Council of giving misleading information on a mobile home to a 72 year old man with Parkinson’s Disease.

Dale Barker, of March, worked for Fenland for 15 years but recently founded Planning Places for People – a new consultancy- and claims the advice given by the council has jeopardised prospects for his client, Barrington Boston.

Mr Boston wants to live in a mobile home on land at Gore Villas, Mill Lane, Murrow, after being told he must move from a nearby builder’s yard.

“This application has arisen due to a series of errors and misunderstanding including significant failings on behalf of Fenland District Council,” says Mr Barker.

These resulted in Mr Boston “investing the majority of his life savings in a mobile home on garden land that he owns. He mistakenly believed that he could station a building on garden land as permitted development.

“He sought advice from Fenland District Council but did not receive a response. He took advice from the leader of the council who should be relied upon for sound advice.

“The advice given was that he did not need planning permission for a ‘day room’ in his garden.”

Mr Barker says the confusion arose in part due to the council’s “failure to give planning advice in a timely manner and partly due to the inaccurate advice given by the leader of the council.”

Mr Barker said today the claims he made were on behalf of his client and “I am simply his mouthpiece.”

Council Leader Alan Melton said: “I have never met the man, or visited his site, or indeed spoken to his planner.

“I have spoken to Mr Boston, by phone, and advised him to engage an agent and submit a planning application which is same advice I would give anybody. That is what he appears to have done.”