People flouting rules by living on their boats are costing Epping Forest District Council £100,000 a year, a parish council has claimed.

Despite planning conditions forbidding it, Roydon Parish Council says an estimated 100 boats are being lived in full-time at Roydon Marina Village, with occupants not paying council tax.

The parish council makes the claim in a report for a high-level district development meeting of Epping Forest District Council, which will be considering an application for the lake to take an extra 240 boats next Wednesday (September 28).

A worker at the Pizza and Steak restaurant, at the entrance to the marina, said: “Obviously yes, a lot of people live in the marina.

“For sure, you have the lodges that you can rent, and hotel rooms, but there are 300 boats so obviously people are living there.”

The marina, which was first granted planning permission in 2009, is part of the Roydon Mill Leisure Park by the High Street.

Much of the park is already used for mobile homes, but a condition imposed by the district council says that people can only stay in moored boats for a maximum of 28 days.

However, the parish council said the rule is “open to abuse” and added: “The parish council has serious concerns about the ability of EFDC to ensure that none of the boats (either existing or in the future) have any permanent residents and it is very disappointing that a survey of boat movements has not been carried out.”

Since permission was granted seven years ago, another 24 planning conditions on the marina have been removed or changed, including a water vole protection plan and flood evacuation plan.

The parish council, Roydon Society, Roydon Boaters Association and more than 34 neighbours have all objected to the expansion.

Complaints include traffic issues at the entrance – including the potential for vehicles to become stuck on a railway level crossing – inadequate parking and a sewage system regularly forced to close because it is full.

Despite the concerns, district council planners have recommended the green belt expansion goes ahead.

Officers said: “None of those raising concerns over permanent residential use have been able to state which boats their concerns relate to, and from site visits, there is no clear evidence of widespread breaches.”

Although accepting that the development will not preserve the openness of the green belt, they add: “The need for moorings to serve the recreational needs of London and the south east, and the suitability of this site to provide for that need with minimal works, is considered sufficient to amount to very special circumstances.”

Three members of the Black Lives Matter group, who were fined after a protest at London City airport, live on a houseboat on the River Stort in Roydon.

The district council has been contacted for comment.