A contractor working at RAF Lakenheath who breached planning permissions could face court proceedings and an unlimited fine, a council has said.

Carvel Project Management, which has been working on the F-35A RAF Lakenheath construction programme, has been served a breach of condition notice by West Suffolk Council's planning enforcement.

The business was given temporary permission in 2019 to use land off of the B1112/A1065 at Wangford for a compound with temporary buildings and supporting infrastructure.

That permission included a condition that they submit a plan for how it would clear the site and restore it to its previous condition as agricultural land by June 10 last year.

The site is still in use, with the only application to vary the conditions of the planning permission submitted 10 days after the deadline for the conditions had passed.

Victor Lukaniuk, ward member for Brandon Town West which includes the area of land, supports the action.

He said: “People have been complaining to me asking how it is that it has been turned into a storage for plant and HGVs when it is a stone curlew nesting area.

"It’s not appropriate. It’s a rare Breckland scene, the permission was temporary.

"It’s expired and it’s time for it to be put right.”

As it is a sensitive site, the decommissioning and restoration work is required to take place between October 1 this year and April 30, 2025 so as to fit outside the stone curlew nesting season.

There is no right of appeal under the breach of condition notice.

Jim Thorndyke, cabinet member for planning at West Suffolk Council, added: “The permission given was temporary while the F-35A construction programme took place. RAF Lakenheath has confirmed that programme is now complete.

"But the site is still in use a year after planning permission expired. This land is part of the current Breckland Special Protection Area, and quite simply enough is enough which is why this notice has now been served.”