A WREXHAM garage owner has won an appeal against a council enforcement notice which reprimanded him for turning a grass bank into a parking area to sell used cars.

Charles Dodman, who runs Smithy View Service Station, was criticised by officials from Wrexham Council as they said he had not applied for planning permission to make the changes.

The local authority gave him three months from when the document was handed to him in October to restore the land on Chester Road to its original condition.

But Mr Dodman argued he had used it as part of his business for more than 30 years and launched an appeal to gain consent for the alterations.

A planning inspector appointed by the Welsh Government has now revoked the enforcement notice and permission has been granted to keep the hardstanding area in place.

It comes after Declan Beggan rejected the council’s suggestion that it would harm the appearance of the area.

In his decision notice, he said: “The council’s case, as supported in broad terms by a number of third party residents, is that the development subject to the enforcement notice has resulted in a green area being lost, to the detriment of the character and appearance of the service station, and the wider streetscene; I disagree.

“The hardstanding area is relatively modest in scale and any vehicles parked on it as seen from several vantage points, are viewed in the context of a backdrop of either the existing built development on the wider garage site, or the existing grassed bank and trees located to the immediate rear of the site.

“As a result the general character of the area would not materially or significantly alter.

“The development subject to this appeal would therefore not be detrimental to the character and appearance of the adjacent site, or the general area, nor for that matter to the visual amenities of occupants of local residents whose properties are generally set well back and separated from the site by roads.”

Documents accompanying the appeal showed Mr Dodman first contacted the council to set out his intentions for the land in June 2015.

In his correspondence he said he believed permission was not needed as it would improve the area.

However, he was visited by officers last August who informed him the work which had been carried out could not be supported.

While the authority argued damage could be caused to nearby trees because of excavated soil from the development being stored nearby, Mr Beggan said a condition had been put in place requiring it to be removed.

He added a landscaping scheme would also be needed to be put forward.