Herefordshire Council has blown the final whistle on a sports club that built an earth 'bund' containing rubble and waste without planning permission.
After years of trying to persuade Hereford City Sports Club, of Grandstand Road, Hereford to comply with planning regulations, the council has offered to remove the 600-metre long bund itself. However, the club will need to repay the £30,000 required for the work, over a period of up to five years.
The bund first appeared in 2005 but without planning permission. The club later submitted two retrospective planning applications, but these were rejected because the construction was out of character and a hindrance to emergency vehicles.
The club appealed but an independent planning inspector backed the council's decision.
"Apart from defining the extent of the land managed by the sports club, I fail to see what function the re-modelled bund would perform," wrote the inspector. "I consider that the bund will still represent an angular alien feature within the greater expanse of open land forming the racecourse."
The council had previously offered to remove the bund and pay upfront back in August last year.
"I regret it is necessary to take this stance", said the council's head of asset management and property services Malcolm MacAskill.
"However, the council has a responsibility to uphold planning law and has provided every opportunity over a long period of time to the club to respond and remove the bund".