Gullane residents in shed wrangle with East Lothian Council planners

The owners of a small storage shed set up to keep wheelchairs and bikes from blocking a communal stair have been ordered to apply for planning permission – despite it being smaller than other sheds in its street.

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Residents of a block of four flats in Gullane came together to install the shed in a garden shared with neighbouring properties to stop them causing a hazard in their stairwell.

But despite claims other neighbours have taller individual sheds, they were told their bike shed needed planning permission.

The shed at the centre of the Gullane planning row

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In a statement to East Lothian Council they said their 1.5 metre high shed stored two wheelchairs and up to ten bicycles which would otherwise create a safety issue in the stairs.

And they told planning officers: “Currently there are another four individually owned full height (over 2m) sheds in the garden jointly owned by the tenement of Rosebery Place, which is shared between 12 residential and 6 commercial properties.

“The owners/residents of the four properties ( involved) have no access to any of these sheds.”

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The bike shed, which is built at the back of the property within an enclosed communal garden, was ruled to require planning permission by East Lothian Council after it had been installed.

The residents said they did not realise the shed was not an acceptable addition to the property and argued that it was essential to store equipment.

They said: “The shed provides much needed storage for two wheelchairs and a number of bicycles (circa 10) owned by the residents.

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