Van vexation as Gypsy expansion bid agreed - Staffordshire

From the Burton Mail

A PARISH councillor said he was ‘surprised and perplexed’ after a proposed expansion to a Gypsy site was granted.

Leo Smith, the owner of the Mile End encampment, in Derby Road, Hilton, has been given permission by South Derbyshire District Council for two extra caravans on the site for three months a year, despite objections from Hilton Parish Council.

The occupancy of the land had been limited to three caravans and Mr Smith wanted permission for another two ‘for occasions such as Christmas or family celebrations.’

Parish councillor Piet Walton-Knight had asked fellow members to object to the application, saying: “No-one else in the village can park extra caravans on the front of their houses for the holidays.” Speaking after the council passed the decision, he said: “I am just surprised and perplexed.

“We have two other sites in Hilton, which were put in retrospectively and then continuously expanded, despite recommendations by the public to the contrary.

“I had concerns over the facilities on site, with the toilets and waste water because they were originally designed for just two caravans.”

A neighbour, Michael Plimmer, who has lived in Derby Road for 21 years, spoke at a previous council meeting, arguing that the site was on an ‘exposed’ plot of land, and said he believed that if it got any bigger it could cause ‘a bad first impression’ for anyone driving into the village.

The applicant’s agent, Alan Yarwood, of the Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group, said: “This condition (three caravans) is generally acceptable but there are occasions such as Christmas or other family celebrations when all of Mr Smith’s sons and daughters gather together with their wives and children. On such occasions, the total number of caravans to be accommodated rises to five.

“These occasions are relatively rare. A maximum period of three months in any year would cover any such eventualities.

“The site is sufficiently large to accommodate five caravans without being overcrowded and on-site facilities are adequate for the increased number of residents.”