Tendring District Council (TDC) planners have granted Lawful Development Certificates to Morgan Marine, allowing the company to complete unfinished works covered by planning consents going back to 1974.

The company announced plans for a new 90-berth marina in Brightlingsea Creek last year, along with shore-based improvements including a new boat hoist, fuel berth and modernised facilities for boat owners last year. The marina element of the proposal generated strong objections from harbour users, ship pilots and Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners who said it would impede navigation and use of the port by encroaching into the navigable channel.

The marina expansion is currently on hold, but in the meantime, Morgan Marine asked TDC to recognise that incomplete shoreside works could be finished – even though the planning permissions that allowed them were decades old. The three old applications covered:

• General berthing facilities, changing rooms, store, office, car and boat parking, toilets and related boundary fencing, approved 1985
• Car park, toilets and pontoons for marine facilities, approved 1976
• Outline for industrial refurbishing, new wearhousing and wharfage and marine facilities at Brightlingsea Shipyard, approved 1974

In its application, Morgan Marine said it was rquesting the certificates as "best practice and as part of a desire to complete the approved works". "The enginnering works relating to the marine facilities, car and boat parking, toilets and boundary fencing have been completed for some time, but the general berthing facilities have not been implemented in line with the consent. The berthing arrangement was started, but not finished. We would now like to make plans to complete the berthing facilities as originally proposed."

However, the granting of the certificates does not mean that the marina expansion plans applied for last year can go ahead. In a comment to TDC about the certificate application, Brightlingsea Harbour Commissioners said: "We would, however, remind the council (and the applicant) that the granting of planning permission for a particular development does not obviate the need for the developer to obtain a marine licence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (where the development involves the deposit of any substance or object on the seabed or foreshore below mean high water spring tide) or a licence from the Brightlingse Harbour Commissioners' area of jurisdiction and a licence is required under the Brightlingsea Harbour Order 1927 or the harbour byelaws).

The application and associated documents can be seen on the TDC website here.