Minister turns down Gypsy site appeals - Warwickshire and Essex

From Planning Portal

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has dismissed two separate appeals involving plans for Gypsy and Traveller sites. In one case he went against the recommendation of the planning inspector.

This involved a change of use application to allow a residential caravan site for up to six Gypsy families and a total of ten caravans and mobile homes at Two Trees Farm, Coventry Road, Aldermans Green, Coventry, Warwickshire.

The scheme, for a site in Green Belt, had been refused permission by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. The inspector who heard the inquiry concluded that the proposals represented inappropriate development but argued there were human rights issues which justified allowing the appeal.

The minister disagreed. His decision letter said the proposals were in conflict with local planning policies and “the harm which the scheme would cause to the Green Belt would not be clearly outweighed by other considerations”.

He also insisted that the “very special circumstances to justify the development on either a permanent or a temporary basis do not exist”.

In the other case the minister agreed with the recommendation of the inspector who handled the inquiry into proposals for the change of use of land from land for grazing of horses to a site for 12 plots for residential use at a location west of Church Road, Laindon, Basildon, Essex. The scheme, also in Green Belt, had been refused by Basildon Borough Council.

In his decision letter the minister said the proposals were “not in accordance with the development plan” were bad for biodiversity and “would have an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the area”.

He argued that the appellants’ need for the site and the lack of alternative sites were not sufficient to outweigh the objections.

In a separate but related development, campaigners who set up a round-the-clock protest camp close to an illegal Gypsy site at Meriden have been served with an enforcement notice by Solihull Borough Council requiring them to remove their temporary shelter by 29 April.