Coldharbour pensioner storing cars to send to Ukraine calls council to 'think again' after being 'threatened' with £1,000 fine

William Lewis, from Coldharbour, was holding the cars on his farmland in Dorking. However he has hit back at Mole Valley District Council’s (MVDC) for what he believes is “outrageous and unsympathetic behaviour”.

In February 2024, the Mayor of London and the charity British Ukrainian Aid (BUA) signed an agreement allowing owners of non-ULEZ compliant vehicles to donate their cars to humanitarian efforts. Rather than being scrapped, the vehicles are loaded with medical aids, donations to charities and NGOs in Ukraine.

“Every vehicle that goes is going to be saving a life in war,” William told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

He explained the cars are all designated to a purpose: whether taking soldiers to the front line, bringing injured soldiers back, or transporting medical professionals between hospitals. William said he has shipped over a hundred vehicles to Ukraine, with 30-50 cars on his property at any one time.

After receiving the Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) from the council in early, Williams said he phoned MVDC’s planning department and was met with a “curt” response to his work for Ukraine. “It beggars belief that the council wouldn’t be taking a sympathetic view,” William said, “Nobody is inconvenienced, they’re not an eyesore”.

But Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) have warned William that if he keeps cars on his property, designated for agricultural purposes, he is breaking planning permission guidelines.

The land lies within conservation sites and is part of the Metropolitan Green Belt, so parking donated vehicles represents a change in use requiring planning permission. Failure to provide requested planning information on the use of the land could result in a £1,000 fine.

When MVDC was contacted for comment, Councillor Margaret Cooksey, Cabinet Member for Planning, said: “Following several complaints from local residents about an excessive number of cars being stored in a field in Coldharbour, Dorking, officers from MVDC investigated and found that the land is part of a farm, with 50 to 55 cars stored there.”

Still on his property after the notice, William said he could not find anywhere for the cars to go at short notice. He said: “Considering the current situation in Ukraine it seems almost unbelievable that such action should be being taken.”

Estimating the cars for Ukraine scheme will not extend much past August due to funding, William is determined to keep up his work.

Explaining why he wanted to help Ukraine, William said he felt compelled to help: “They are on our doorsteps. How can we have this happen?”.

William has undertaken seven trips into Ukraine since March 2022 (one month after the war started) taking humanitarian aid and delivering several ambulances. He has also raised funds to buy 180 generators for the country.

MVDC said they further advised Mr Williams that if he wishes the local authority to consider whether it is acceptable to continue using the land for vehicle storage after August 31, he should make a planning application.

Councillor Margaret Cooksey said: “If a valid planning application is not submitted, and vehicles remain on the land after August 31, 2024, MVDC would have to consider whether to take formal planning enforcement action.”