Clacton's Christmas Wonderland saved by judge

A High Court judge has stepped in to save the Christmas Wonderland at Clacton in Essex from being closed down.

Tendring District Council had applied for an injunction to close the attraction after it opened without planning permission citing traffic concerns.

More than 4,000 people signed a petition to keep it open.

Despite being critical of the operator’s behaviour and describing it as a “finely balanced” case the Judge turned down the application.

Christmas Wonderland asked for costs to be awarded against the council but that was rejected.

Neil Stock, Leader of Tendring District Council, said: “Taking this case to the High Court was not something we did without a great deal of thought and consideration.

“We needed to demonstrate that we will not stand idly by and allow a blatantdisregard for the democratic planning process to go unchallenged.

“When a business sets out to operate illegally it sends a very poor message to those who obey the law and often have to pay a lot of money to ensure they do comply with relevant rules and regulations.

“This is a case of a business seeking to cash in on Christmas without proper regard for customer safety or the impact on other road users.

“This unauthorised business has had all year to sort this matter out but has chosen not to do so.”