Sue Jones went on holiday for two weeks. When she came back, a warehouse the size of several football pitches had appeared behind her house.
“I was disgusted when I saw it,” the 67-year-old retired army veteran said. “How have they been allowed to build it so close to our properties?”
The warehouse in Pilning, South Gloucestershire, stands 20 metres tall and covers more than 500,000 square feet. It sits 153 metres from the nearest homes. Residents say it blocks their light, shook their houses during construction, and will bring round-the-clock lorry traffic through their village.
What they cannot do is stop it.
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Built on a 1957 Loophole
Imperial Chemical Industries got planning permission for the Severnside site in 1957, part of post-war industrial expansion. That consent covers over 1,000 hectares.
When Florida-based developer BGO Wire PropCo Ltd applied for approval in January 2025, South Gloucestershire Council could only assess design and layout. Everything else had been approved seven decades earlier, before modern environmental protections or community consultation requirements existed.
Legal advice confirmed the council had “limited control” over the Severnside development. Officers couldn’t reject it based on noise, flood risk, traffic impact, or effects on neighbouring properties.
Original plans anticipated buildings around 16 metres tall. This one reaches 24 metres, with the land artificially raised.
Simone Harrison lived peacefully in her home for 13 years. She used to watch deer and rabbits from her window.
“It is an effing monstrosity,” she said. “When they started the piling work the whole house was shaking. They told us they were going to clean our house and cars and they didn’t.”
£50,000 Wiped Off Home Values
Local estate agents say properties near the warehouse have dropped 10% in value.
Anna Birnie spent her inheritance on what she hoped would be a “forever home” in Pilning in 2023. That 10% drop represents more than £50,000 gone.
She chose the village for its rural character.
“I wanted the England that I grew up in,” Birnie told The Telegraph in November. “A rural village surrounded by fields. I really didn’t want to live on an industrial estate.”
Paul Selby, a retired policeman, greets the warehouse each morning when he opens his curtains. “You can see it from all over the place. Everybody has commented that it’s completely spoilt what was a rural village.”
Nicki Povey said it “overpowers” every building in Pilning and blocks her son’s bedroom views. Colin Cheetham, 75, can see it from upstairs.
“We’re going to have to put up with it for the rest of our lives.”
The approved plans show 79 loading bays, 336 car parking spaces, and 95 HGV spaces. Residents fear constant lorry traffic, reversing bleepers, and refrigerated vehicles running through the night.
MP Takes Planning Permission Dispute to Westminster
Liberal Democrat MP Claire Young secured a debate in Parliament on 11 December 2025, pressing ministers to address historic development consents like the one used in Pilning.
She pointed to precedent.
The Planning and Compensation Act 1991 created a process to update old mining permissions with modern environmental conditions. Quarry operators received no compensation.
“Historic consents need to be looked at and we need legislation to introduce modern conditions on them,” Young told the Commons. “So we don’t have this situation where people’s very reasonable concerns can’t be taken into consideration.”
Matthew Pennycook, the Housing and Planning Minister, acknowledged the system “does not provide a ready solution” but stopped short of promising legislative change. He noted councils could revoke planning permissions under section 97 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, though the authority would have to compensate the developer for all costs and losses.
Pennycook promised Young a meeting with ministry officials in early 2026.
That meeting has not yet happened.
Similar Battles Across Britain
Warehouse space across the UK has grown 61% since 2015, adding 262 million square feet of storage, according to industry data. Average heights keep climbing.
The pattern repeats elsewhere.
In Corby, Northamptonshire, a 60-foot warehouse was approved after the council mistakenly consulted residents on the wrong street. It still stands empty. At Nacton near Ipswich, a 69-foot warehouse went ahead despite massive local opposition. Residents in Creeting St Peter, Suffolk, face a similar fight.
Clare Bottle, chief executive of the UK Warehousing Association, argues these facilities are essential infrastructure. “Warehouses are a crucial engine for growth. Housebuilding, the health service, defence strategies – none of that can happen without a thriving logistics economy.”
The economic argument hasn’t convinced people in Pilning. “They go on about this creating jobs,” Sue Jones said. “But this will create a few minimum wage jobs and the rest is automated.”
Thirty Neighbours Launch Warehouse Protest
Residents formed the Severnside Community Action Group, meeting regularly to coordinate their response. Their petition demanding council action has gathered over 1,400 signatures.
“This is a ginormous mega-shed,” said Joanne McCready, one of the organisers. “There’ll be light pollution, noise pollution, and the lorries will be coming down our B road.”
Councillor Simon Johnson called the situation “no longer fit for purpose.” He told ITV the warehouse “should not have been built at this height and not with this much impact for local residents.”
South Gloucestershire challenged the 1957 consent in court in 2003.
They lost.
A 2022 Secretary of State decision confirmed the permission remains valid and capable of implementation. The same consent could permit additional large-scale industrial buildings on neighbouring land near Pilning, Severn Beach and Easter Compton.
Developer BGO Wire PropCo Ltd has not responded to requests for comment from the BBC or other media. The warehouse is expected to reach completion in April 2026.
Christine Selby, 68, watches the final construction stages from her home. “I feel annoyed and powerless. It has destroyed the area.”
Olena May put it differently. “We feel diminished, like we aren’t human.”
