THE issue of whether a temporary mobile home at Burnham Yacht Harbour should be allowed to remain will be debated by Maldon district councillors next Wednesday (14 April).

Two mobile homes have appeared at the site during the pandemic after the harbour in Foundry Lane, Burnham-on-Crouch, decided extra security presence was needed because the Covid-19 situation means that there are not the usual restaurant and club staff to hand. At the harbour there is a boat workshop, admin offices, restaurant, chandlery and storage yard.

However, there was no permission for the two mobile units and now the harbour's owners have asked for retrospective planning consent to keep one on the site for a period of 18 months – while agreeing to remove the other. Both mobile homes are located north of the existing marina offices, at the rear of an existing storage yard.

Maldon District Council's South Eastern Area Planning Committee will make a decision on whether one mobile home can stay – with council officers having recommended refusal for the following reasons:

• the site is outside the town's settlement boundary, situated north of an established marina

• the amenity space for any future occupants of the mobile home is not satisfactory as it is situated in a storage yard.