Travellers bidding to make site their home - Shropshire

From the Shropshire Star

A row over a Travellers’ site in the Shropshire countryside took a new twist after the occupants applied for planning permission to stay put – despite council bosses serving them with an injunction.

A planning application has been submitted to Shropshire Council for an eight-pitch site in Warrant Road, Stoke-upon-Tern near Market Drayton.

A number of vehicles moved to the site at the end of March.

That prompted Shropshire Council to serve an injunction on the occupants in a bid to prevent any development.

The travellers challenged the injunction and took their fight to overturn it to the High Court in Birmingham.

But at a hearing on Monday the council was granted an order preventing any further development on the site.

Local residents have already objected to the plans to create a Travellers site on the land, which is owned by the occupants.

John Taylor, writing on Shropshire Council’s website, said: “Neighbours have not been consulted on this application, nor on the change of use of the existing site.

“It is time to consider other areas for this type of housing integration to take place in order to take account of the social impact recommended in the planning guidelines.”

A statement on behalf of the applicants, John Finney and others, says: “There can be no doubt that there is a clear and urgent need for additional site provision for Gypsies and Travellers in England and Wales.

“The local plan fails to identify suitable locations for Gypsy/Traveller sites in this district.

“The families all have very strong connections to the north Shropshire area and if consent is not granted they would remain in this area, doubling up with others where they can or resorting to roadside encampments.

“The families are all English Travellers. They are all closely related and/or have lived and travelled together as a group for many years.”