A COUNCIL is considering its next step after a landowner failed to remove some 70 ’scrap’ cars from his Wye Valley AONB farmland.

Mark Dew, of the Malt Shovel Pub in Ruardean, was ordered to remove his stockpile of rusting vehicles from Doward Farm in Whitchurch in April 2019.He was then given 180 days to clear the site just over two miles from Monmouth after losing an appeal more than 15 months ago, but Herefordshire Council say they are still there.Indeed, the saga goes back even further, with the pub owner winning an appeal against a previous enforcement order in 2017, when the council failed to clearly identify which bit of land was involved.They recommenced action with a new enforcement order in 2019, leading to the inspector backing them at an appeal in July 2020.Mr Dew is no stranger to planning disputes with the council, with councillors regularly bemoaning the state of the derelict Riverside pub he owns in Ross-on-Wye, where planners have turned down a bid to turn it into housing.He has previously said his car collection, amassed over 30 years, including 90-year-old vintage motors and five Jaguar classic cars, was being stored in barns and around the farm with a view to opening a motoring museum. But Herefordshire Council planners told him it was "unauthorised material change of use of the land from agricultural to a mixed use of agricultural and for the siting and storage of old/scrap cars, vans and non-agricultural vehicles", and ordered him to get rid of the machinery.A council spokesman said this week: "No compliance has been achieved in respect of the Notice and the Local Planning Authority is therefore now considering options for next steps to be taken."In his dismissal of the appeal last year, planning inspector JP Roberts said: "There are currently about 70 vehicles stored on the land⦠and it is clear from their condition that many of them have been stored there for many years."There are also various piles of timber, lengths of profiled metal, a pile of tyres, an assortment of what looks like pub garden furniture and a number of miscellaneous items."Significant parts of the site were inaccessible due to an overgrowth of thick and tall nettles, which may have hidden other items from view."Mark Dew and his father Lt Col Peter Dew both signed affidavits in 2016 when the first enforcement order was made, claiming the use of the land for storing the cars dated back more than 10 years.But the council produced an aerial photograph from 2006 showing "only a couple of vehicles" on the relevant enforcement zone.The inspector ruled last year: "The appearance of the stored cars is very much at odds with the scenic beauty of the area."The cars are stored in a haphazard fashion, many are faded and rusting, and their multiplicity of colours stands out against the green of the adjacent fields and the narrow palette of colours of the buildings."They are an obviously man-made feature, at odds with the rural landscapeâ¦"The appellant’s collection includes some vintage classic cars, and he hopes to be able to restore these cars and to create a museum to show some of the "greats" of British car manufacturing."However, few of the 70 or so vehicles stored on the enforcement notice site could be considered as classics."There is an abundance of marques, including about 10 Peugeot 205s, a smattering of commonplace Fords and VWs and around 18 vans."Many of them are badly rusted, damaged or decayed. It seems to me that most of the vehicle storage has no credible association with motoring heritageâ¦"He said thick layers of dirt on cars stored in the barn indicated that no work had been carried out on restoration "in some time", and there was a lack of evidence that any motoring museum would result."I therefore afford the benefits that might flow from such a development very little weight, and it is insufficient to counteract the great weight that must be afforded to the conservation of the natural beauty of the AONB."Wye Valley AONB manager Andrew Blake said previously: "The private collection of random scrap and curious cars is visible in the open countryside and negatively affects the landscape character of undulating pasture, woodland, occasional dwellings and dramatic hills."The use of the site for the storage of scrap/old cars does not contribute to the conservation or enhancement of the natural and scenic beauty of the Wye Valley AONB, nor the historic environment."Farm neighbour Richard Cleare added: "There has been no effort to protect or refurbish these vehicles, so they cannot be considered in any way a prized collection. The vehicles have just been left to rot in full view of habitation and visiting walkers."To allow this blot on this scenic valley would make a mockery of protected planning policies."Mr Dew has claimed that vehicles stored onsite have appeared on the Classic Car Rescue TV show, and he is a member of the MG Owners’ Club who want to "preserve motoring heritage".While "some cars, particularly those stored outside, have rusted", they were "used to supply parts when repairing and restoring other cars", he said.