THE owners of a Chester village farm quad bike facility fighting to prove their farm can be used for quad bike and motocross (MX) activities have been dealt a setback.

Tile Farm is home to Tile Farm Off Road, on Wicker Lane, Guilden Sutton, and its owners submitted an application last September to Cheshire West and Chester Council for a so-called 'Certificate of Lawfulness', to show that its development for quad bike and off-road bikes was lawful.

The submission came amid noise complaints from nearby residents, with one complaining the noise was "akin to living by the Oulton Park racing circuit".

Cheshire West and Chester Council refused the application on Friday, March 4.

Katherine Arden, on behalf of the Arden family which own the farmland, sought to establish a Certificate of Lawfulness for the site by saying off-road activities have been taking place at the site since 2002.

The submission included what the council described was "a wealth of information" as the applicants tried to show Tile Farm had been home to quad/off-road bikes and agriculture for at least 10 consecutive years.

The facility has provided quad bike tuition and track days along with, more recently, motocross tuition, on its 250-acre site which features a dedicated off-road track, with sessions taking place from Mondays to Saturdays.

But Guilden Sutton Parish Council, one of the consultees, said while it was "reasonable to conclude that quad biking has been in operation at the site since 2002", the supporting evidence for the use of MX bikes was "inconclusive", and the application should be refused.

It added the usage of the land and the associated business was "substantially different" from that which existed 10 years ago.

CWaC noted there had been 51 responses to the application, including 45 objections, citing concerns over noise pollution, highway safety, an adverse impact on protected species and nearby livery yard, and the intensity of the facility's use only gathering momentum in recent years.

The authority cited an email from an officer to an agent in May 2018 stating while the quad/bike paddock was lawful, there was not "sufficient evidence to claim that the remainder of the land [was] now a mixed use of agricultural/quad bike use".

The council, at that time, added that a change of use was not required for the land, as long as the use of quad biking did not exceed 28 days per calendar year. CWaC's enforcement team was called to the land in 2021 following a complaint alleging the quad biking track activity had increased beyond 28 days.

The council concluded: "The council has considered a wealth of information provided by the applicant, along with the representations received, historic aerial imagery along with statements and officer notes from the previous enforcement cases.

"It is considered that whilst there has been an evident growth in the frequency of the uses over recent years, the information suggests a sporadic, fluid and intermittent use in the earlier part of the previous 10 years.

"Accordingly, it is not considered on the balance of probabilities that the whole planning unit, as applied for, had been used for a mix of agriculture and quads/off-road bikes for more than 10 years prior to the application date. A lawful development certificate cannot be issued."

Tile Farm Off Road is separately seeking to appeal an abatement notice served by the council last July.

At Chester Magistrates Court in January, both Cheshire West and Chester Council and the appellants sought an adjournment for more evidence to be gathered, with a potential view to settling the matter before it went to trial.

A further case management hearing is due in June.