IT’S been a bad week for Oxford property developer Martin Young.

First he was forced to end his battle with Oxford City Council over the £132m redevelopment of Oxford Brookes University’s Gipsy Lane campus due to the prospect of a huge legal bill if he lost.

And now his plans for a permanent dump in Littlemore have been rubbished by a planning inspector.

The Headington Hill resident first applied for permission to turn the patch of land in Long Wall into an official tip back in 2010.

The plans were refused by Oxford City Council, but was then referred to Oxfordshire County Council because of a mix-up about who was responsible for the application.

The county council then refused permission in July last year.

Mr Young took the refusal to appeal, but that was finally turned down by the Planning Inspectorate this week.

In his report, inspector Brian Cook said: “The council’s refusal to grant a certificate of lawful use or development was well-founded.”

Mr Young bought the 20ft x 40ft land for £600 in October 2007 and applied for permission to build a chalet on it. The plans were refused in April 2010.

He had hoped to use a legal loophole to prove the small site had been used continuously for rubbish for 10 years, so he could turn it into a recognised dump.

Last night Littlemore city councillor Gill Sanders said: “This was the only sensible decision that any inspector could have come to.

“This is a small piece of land at the bottom of the gardens of three houses. The idea that these people and their children were going to be right next to a rubbish dump with no vehicle access at all was ridiculous.

“I know all the residents will be greatly relieved to see this application sensibly dismissed.”

Mr Young said: “I always said I didn’t want a dull life.

“It’s never the end. That land is a waste of space and something ought to be done.

“This land is already used for flytipping. I don’t want to create a worse space, I want to create a better one.”