WEST BAY: A councillor has come under fire for starting work on a new ice cream kiosk without planning permission.

Bridport Town councillor Karl Wallace has started work to change an old garage into the kiosk at the Station Yard car park before getting approval from West Dorset District Council. A planning permission application has now been lodged with planners.

Richard Attrill, who runs Harbour News in West Bay has objected to the proposal - believing it could be dangerous during summer months, and put other businesses out of pocket.

He said: “He's already done all the work, which makes me wonder if he knows something the rest of us don't know.

“Usually you wait for planning permission and then do all the work. It's like inventing the cart before you have a horse.

“I don't think we really need any more ice cream outlets in the Bay. But I think the location for where it is certainly isn't the best. You are losing three or four spaces, plus there will be children running around the car park in the summer, which is a very dangerous thing to do.”

In his application Cllr Wallace said: “This application proposes the alteration of the current dilapidated building and change of use to ice cream kiosk.

“There will be considerable positive impact on its aesthetic value and these works represent a major enhancement of its character and appearance.”

Fellow councillors discussed the application at their meeting last Monday.

Town clerk Bob Gillis said he'd advised Cllr Wallace not to come to the meeting because he could not speak.

He said Cllr Wallace told him he was intending the kiosk to provide one full time and four part time jobs.

Mr Gillis said Cllr Wallace said he did not intend to sell ice creams from any of the windows and there would be no loss of parking spaces.

Cllr Gilliam Summers said: “My feelings were very similar to the objector in that there are an awful lot of outlets for ice cream in the rest of the bay and that probably a car park is not the best place to have it.

“We have already have things on the other side of the car park when we have car boot sales who sell food and they have to have planning permission and I think they might not be too happy.”

Cllr Sarah Williams said Cllr Wallace should have put in planning applicant of change of use

She said: “I would have thought there should have been a separate change of use application saying exactly what category the applicant wants to put the building into, without that I can't see that we can comment on this and that will then enable people in West Bay to comment on it.”

Cllr Eddie Colfox said: “I don't think it is such a bad location for a kiosk, it is not actually in the car park, it is adjacent.”

Cllr Wallace was unavailable for comment.

Residents have until Saturday December 13 to comment on the application at the dorsetforyou.com website.