HEREFORDSHIRE Council has come under fire after it was revealed the authority ran a town car park for years without ever having planning permission to do so.

The blunder was unearthed by Bromyard and Winslow Town Council which took over ownership of the Tenbury Road car park in Bromyard just three months ago.

But after going through paperwork during the handover, it was discovered that not only did Herefordshire Council never have permission for the land to be used as a car park, but that the new owners will now have to fork out almost £200 to try and get the situation resolved.

Town council members were told about the mistake during a meeting last week.

"The town council has had to make a planning application for the lawful use of Tenbury Road as a car park because it never had planning permission to be used as such," said Cllr Roger Page, who chairs the town council's Planning and Economic Development committee.

"So, unbeknown to the people of Bromyard it was not legally a car park.

"I find it absolutely extraordinary that a council could operate a car park without permission. Absolutely extraordinary.

"If you trade from a building which has no planning permission then you are trading illegally.

"I would be very interested to see how anyone who has received parking tickets over the years would get on in court."

He said the town council had asked Herefordshire Council if it would rectify the situation itself but "they refused", meaning the Bromyard council had to fork out £195 to submit the 'certificate of lawfulness' application.

Fellow committee member Cllr Ray Whittaker said the county council has a "bloody cheek" to make the town council go through the application because of "something they've (the county council) cocked up".

Herefordshire Council said: "The use of the land for this purpose for more than ten years means it has become lawful. The decision to make such an application is up to the town council."