£1.7M TRAVELLER SITE PLAN FOR NATIONAL PARK

TRAVELLERS could soon enjoy stunning countryside views from a £1.7million camp in Britain’s newest national park – following plans revealed by the Green party.

Tens of thousands of residents are furious about the proposed permanent site in the protected South Downs National Park.

Brighton and Hove City Council, which is controlled by Green party councillors, wants to turn a slice of the rolling Sussex countryside, which inspired poets like Rudyard Kipling, into a state-of-the-art base for 16 Traveller families.

The facility – costing more than £100,000 per family – would house trailers, caravans and vehicles while an amenity block would provide a kitchen, bathroom and dayroom. Decorative trees and colourful shrubs would add the finishing touches. The application will have to be decided by the South Downs National Park planning committee.

Last night Hove’s Tory MP Mike Weatherley slammed the council for throwing money at the project at a time of deep cuts.

Hove’s Tory MP Mike Weatherley said: “It couldn’t have chosen a more picturesque site on which to build a static traveller site. The land falls within the South Downs National Park so should be receiving the highest possible protection. It would be totally impossible for a local resident to get planning permission to build a house there so why should Travellers be treated any differently?

“It’s not exactly the sort of policy you would expect from the Green party, which is now in charge.”

The 628 square-mile national park, which stretches from Winchester to the white chalk cliffs of Beachy Head, was given protected status by Labour’s former environment secretary Hilary Benn in 2009. Its rugged downland is home to an abundance of protected wildlife and flowers.

The city council says it settled on the site after examining more than 50 others in the area. A spokesman added: “The site is the least controversial available locally. Residents will be expected to pay rent, council tax and utility bills.”