Skip hire operator Nick Moss says he will appeal against the refusal of permission to use land at Maesbury Camp, near Wells, as a haulage yard.

Mr Moss has been fighting a series of battles with planners at district and county level to get permission to use land at the former stores depot at Maesbury since 2005.

He bought the land in 2005 and has applied for permission to use it for various purposes.

In 2008 he appealed against a refusal to use the land as a recycling centre and waste transfer station but dropped his appeal when, he claims, Mendip suggested he could use a site at Glastonbury.

In his latest application, which was also refused, he applied for permission for a certificate of lawful use for the land.

This required him to prove the land had been used for a specific purpose for ten years.

The application asked for permission to keep using the land as a haulage and storage yard, which he claims has been carried out there since the 1940s.

His said he wanted to continue to use the land for haulage and storage because he claimed this had been carried out for the past ten years at the site.

Mendip planners decided the evidence that the depot had been used continuously for that purpose for the past decade was not strong enough and refused the application.

Mr Moss said he will now appeal against the council's decision.

And he said the only reason he wanted permission was so he could move off the land.

"I just keep the vehicles there at the moment and I can't do anything with the site, like sell it on, because the council won't give me planning permission.

"Nobody will buy it without permission for its use.

"As soon as I get permission I'll sell the land and go and buy somewhere more suitable. Until then I'm stuck.

"I asked the council to get in touch with me if they had any concerns over my application but they just ignored me.

"The planners didn't consult me, they just refused the application.

"It was definitely used for haulage because I've seen operators licences for trucks going back to the 1980s.

"They are happy to take my business rates but they won't give me permission to run a business."

"Mendip's own protocols say they are supposed to help local businesses, so why aren't they helping me?"

A council spokesman said the authority could not comment on the appeal at this early stage.