Residents living in a Glastonbury building will shortly be evicted following a successful appeal by the local authority.

The Zig Zag Building lies on Morland Road in the Beckery area of Glastonbury, and was once part of the Morland factory complex.

Since 2013, the building has been a hub for exhibitions, performances, and community gatherings, as well as hosting an off-grid project focused on sustainable living.

Both Mendip District Council and its successor Somerset Council have expressed concerns over the use of the building and the surrounding land, including the living conditions of people living in the area.

Following a public inquiry in April, the Planning Inspectorate has ruled in Somerset Council's favour – meaning the residents have to leave within nine months.

Planning inspector Siobhan Watson has also ordered the owner of the site to partially pay the council's legal costs in light of "unreasonable behaviour resulting in unnecessary or wasted expense".

The building, constructed in the Bauhaus architectural style, was built in 1934 and remained in active commercial use until 1980.

The site remained vacant until Chris Black purchased it in 2013, and has since been used for art exhibitions, creative workspaces and pop-up events.

Mr Black applied to the former in July 2018 for retrospective planning permission to site seven containers within the site for "storage, workshops, galleries, and residential use", as well as the retention of a caravan for residential use and one open-sided pole shed to serve as a workshop use.

As of January, this application has still not been determined by either planning officers or the planning committee east, which handles significant planning applications within the former Mendip area.

Following an investigation, Somerset Council served two enforcement notices on the owner and occupiers of the Zig Zag Building on September 28, 2023, alleging breaches of planning control.

The notices made the following demands in relation to the building and the car park within its grounds:

• that the unauthorised mixed use of the land for storage and residential use is stopped
• that all caravans, steel containers, goods and chattels are permanently removed
• that the land is restored to its original condition before the unauthorised material change of use

The Zig Zag's owners appealed these notices, with Ms Watson visiting the site on two occasions either side of the public hearings held between April 17 and 25.

She said: "The fact that residential containers can be moved around and off the site indicates a lack of permanence. The appellant indicates in his grounds of appeal that it would cost £500 per unit to remove the containers by crane.

"I do not consider that the cost alone of removing the containers indicates that they are permanent structures; however, it does show that they can be moved."

Under planning law, any building which has been used for residential purposes for ten years without enforcement action gains "immunity" from any such legal action in the future, with the local council typically issuing a certificate of lawful use to confirm this.

Ms Watson ruled that the Zig Zag building and its environs "does not have immunity" because the council had started its enforcement action within the ten-year period since Mr Black purchased the site.

She added: "The site is strewn with items including containers, ramshackle structures, old vehicles, barrels of toilet waste, and piles of scrap and rubbish. It has an unclean feel and a rat crossed my path on the site visit.

"The site is very clearly visible from Beckery Old Road, in spite of boundary planting. It has a seriously harmful visual effect upon the street-scene and lends an unpleasant ambience to the vicinity.

"The developments on site harm the character and appearance of the area… and the living conditions are inadequate for the occupiers of the site."

Ms Watson also ruled there was "strong evidence" that the site contributed to antisocial behaviour and crime within Glastonbury, arguing that its removal would make residents within the town feel safer.

She said: "There is strong evidence that the existence of the site is a contributory factor to the crime occurring in the area, especially as there have been serious crimes occurring on the site.

"The anti-social behaviour and the appearance of the vans on the roadside creates a fear of crime in the area, which makes visiting the area off-putting.

"A pattern of anti-social behaviour and crime which has arisen partly due to the use of the land has been demonstrated."

Ms Watson upheld the council's enforcement notices (albeit with small amendments to the wording) and said Mr Black had nine months to comply in full.

Mr Black said he was "stunned" by this decision, including the partial award of costs against him.

He told BBC Radio Somerset: "The council think I've made a big mess of this building because I've got wild trees growing around the edges of it and a really lovely garden.

"We've had a wonderful lot of cultural events from weddings to ceilidhs to lots of exhibitions.

"No-one around here has got a couple of pennies to rub together, and they will have to go off and try and find a full-time job and somewhere to live.

"The council has made it quite clear that there's no chance of residential development here. They've said we can't live in containers or caravans or anything else."

Somerset Council stated in early-January that it was "acutely aware" of the impact its enforcement action would have on vulnerable people living on the site, stating it would provide support and housing advice.

As part of the £23.6m Glastonbury town deal (funded by central government), the council has pledged to "improve the facilities for non-bricks and mortar dwellers" in the town, including the delivery of more permanent and temporary transit pitches.

The council is currently securing a number of small sites after its originally chosen location, north of Porchestall Drove, had to be scrapped due to localised flooding.