A landowner has been ordered to rip up a stretch of hardstanding laid without planning permission in protected Chilterns countryside.

Buckinghamshire Council has issued an enforcement notice concerning land north of Five Oaks Farm in Wycombe Road, Studley Green.

The council says the hardstanding amounts to inappropriate development in the Green Belt and neither conserves nor enhances the natural beauty of the Chilterns National Landscape.

Under the notice, the hardstanding must be ripped up and removed before the land is restored to its previous condition.

Any debris created by the work must also be cleared from the site.

The council said the development had taken place without planning permission and appeared to have occurred within the past ten years.

Planning officers concluded that it conflicted with policies intended to protect both the Green Belt and the Chilterns countryside.

The notice states: “In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, the hardstanding fails to comply with adopted Green Belt policy and represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt which is, by definition, harmful to it.”

It adds that there are no “very special circumstances” capable of outweighing the harm caused by the development.

The council said the hardstanding conflicted with the Government’s aim of protecting the “openness and permanence” of the Green Belt.

It also raised concerns about the extent of the development and its effect on the surrounding landscape.

The notice states: “By reason of the extent of the hardstanding, the unauthorised development neither conserves nor enhances the natural beauty of the Chilterns National Landscape.”

Those responsible for the land will have four months to complete the work once the notice takes effect.

The enforcement notice is due to come into force on September 1, unless an appeal is submitted before that date.

An appeal would suspend the requirements until it had been determined or withdrawn.

If no appeal is made and the notice is not followed, those responsible could face prosecution or remedial action by the council.

The notice was issued on July 9 by Buckinghamshire Council’s planning compliance and enforcement manager.