A SCRAP metal firm in Keynsham has been told it is legally allowed to trade from its site in Broadmead Lane.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has decided that a certificate of lawfulness can be granted for use of the premises by Luna Metal Recycling.
The applicant’s agent, Stokes Morgan Planning Ltd, said the certificate was needed to allow the applicant to meet the conditions of an environmental waste carrier licence.
A B&NES Council officer’s report stated: “A certificate of lawfulness is a legal document stating the lawfulness of past and present use.
“The certificate is not a planning permission. The planning merits of the use, operation or activity in the application are not relevant.”
Luna Metal Recycling trades at Unit 11F-G at the Broadmead Lane Industrial Estate, alongside the River Avon.
It collects and receives scrap metal including copper, lead, brass, steel, zinc and aluminium, as well as some appliances, cables, and lead acid batteries.
The metal is sorted, graded and prepared for re-sale, then moved on. Much of the work is done by hand, and involves the use of the industrial scales, powered cutting equipment, and a forklift.
The application letter stated that the property was originally part of a soap factory built in the 19th century.
Before the applicant bought the unit, it was used by a firm registered as DJF Industrial Coatings Limited but trading as Keynsham Industrial Coatings.
“There have been no apparent lawful changes of use or alternative permissions on the site, and this application is made on the basis that the unit has been in continuous use for industrial purposes,” the agent said.
It added that a check of business rates also indicated a continuous presence on the site as a workshop and premises going back to 2017.
The council officer’s report noted that Keynsham Town Council had asked B&NES Council to be mindful that, if granted, the Certificate of Lawfulness for an Existing Use (CLEU) could have a detrimental effect on the lives of the boat dwellers living in that location.
The report stated: “It’s important to clarify that a CLEU application is not based on an assessment of the planning merits or impacts of the use in question. Instead, it relies solely on factual evidence to demonstrate that the use has been ongoing for a sufficient period of time.”
It concluded: “On the balance of probability, it is considered that the use is lawful, and it is recommended that the certificate of lawfulness be granted.”
Pictured below, boats on the river near the scrap metal firm’s site
