Kestrel Hydro, a naturist spa within the vicinity of Heathrow Airport, today asked a judge to overturn a planning decision that could force it to turn the property back into a “family dwellinghouse”.
Lawyers for the club, which has been operating in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex, for around ten years, today told Holgate J that the decision should be quashed because the structures on the property were also used for residential purposes, and because there is a need for the facilities provided.
The site, which has been used in the past as a haulage business, also provides residential accommodation, a use that is “accepted as lawful,” by Spelthorne borough council, which issued an enforcement notice in respect of the property, Kestrel’s lawyer, Saira Kabir Sheikh QC said in written arguments.
“Since around 2004, Kestrel has in addition been used as a private club for consenting adults to engage in naturist pursuits and sexual activities, a business operated by the appellant,” she said. “Also since 2004, a number of structures and facilities have been erected in the grounds of Kestrel in connection with both the naturist spa and residential use,” she said.
The problems first arose in 2013 when Kestrel applied for the property to be recategorised from residential use to a mixture of both residential use and as a private members’ club.
The application was refused on the grounds that it would be “inappropriate development of the green belt,” that “results in the site having a more urban character”, Sheikh said in court papers.
While the site does lie within the green belt it is in “neither wholly residential area nor open countryside,” Sheikh said. It is also “within sight of Heathrow Terminal 5”. She said there have been no complaints about the business, and the authorities have failed to take into account the “possibility that the buildings had been put (in part) to a lawful use, and could be so used again”.
Kestrel also asserts that the facility meets a community need and is in “an ideal location to accommodate the specialist needs of a naturist spa”.
The case is being contested by lawyers representing the council and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who refused to overturn it on appeal.
Kestrel Hydro v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Planning Court (Holgate J) 16 April 2015
