Rugby Club dealt blow as Ribble Valley Council tell them to remove 'essential' containers - here's why

Clitheroe Rugby Club - which has senior teams and more than 100 youth and junior members - made a retrospective application for the citing of three 20ft and one 10ft steel container at its site in Copperfield Close after a complaint was made.

They apologised for the ‘oversight’, and offered to make them less intrusive, but permission has been refused - leaving the club in a tricky position.

The application, by the club’s committee, claimed the containers on the car park and near the pitch were “essential for the club's operations, providing secure and accessible storage that is critical for our growing rugby sections and community functions.”

The containers have been used to store furniture, event equipment, glassware for the bar, rugby merchandise, rugby and ground maintenance equipment.

A letter to the council added: “With two senior men's teams, a growing women's team, and a rapidly expanding junior section (ages 6 to 16), we have a significant amount of equipment to store. This includes balls, tackle pads, scrum machine parts, flags, and posts. Secure, organized storage close to the pitches is vital for the safety and efficiency of training sessions and matches. Many rugby clubs use similar containers for this purpose due to their practicality and durability.”

It also said that the grounds maintenance equipment “represents a significant investment and is necessary to accommodate the increased footfall from our growing membership. Storing it securely minimizes the risk of damage, loss and vandalism/damage, which we have encountered previously, or injury to anyone on the premises, ensuring a safer and more professional environment.”

The club has said it is club was “committed to mitigating the visual impact of the containers”, and all would be painted green and screened with shrubs, where possible.

Decision

But planning bosses at Ribble Valley Borough Council have not been won over, and have refused permission. A decision notice states: “The proposal is considered to be in direct conflict with the aims and objectives of Policy DMG1 of the Ribble Valley Core Strategy, particularly insofar that the proposed containers represent an anomalous, unsympathetic and discordant form of development that result in significant detriment to the character and visual amenities of the area.”

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