A Suffolk astronomical society has been given permission to continue using a 20ft shipping container behind a village hall to store telescopes and other equipment.
The Orwell Astronomical Society (OASI) had originally been given permission to use the shipping container behind Newbourne Village Hall in February 2019, but a five year time limit had been imposed by East Suffolk Council to enable OASI to find a more permanent structure.
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Concerns about the visual impact were also behind the time limit, but OASI said this had been addressed by planting hazel and hawthorn at both ends of the container to soften the outline and merge it with surrounding plants, bushes and trees.
In a supporting document with the plans, the society also said the container had originally been intended to be a long-term equipment store, as 'there was - and still is - no prospect of finding or building a more permanent structure'.
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The latest application was to be able to use the container 'ideally indefinitely'.
The container makes it easier for OASI to hold twice monthly observing evenings without having to bring in equipment from off site.
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