Lower Kingswood man applies to have three caravans in garden - Surrey

From the Surrey Mirror

PLANS for a Gypsy caravan site have attracted a storm of opposition with more than 250 objections lodged with council planners.

The application for three caravans in the garden of Highlands, a large detached house in Black Horse Lane, Lower Kingswood, is in the green belt.

The applicant, an Irish Gypsy, wants to accommodate his mother and three siblings and their families – around eight people – on the site where he also lives.

But the application has raised fears among some locals of another "Dale Farm" – Europe's largest illegal Travellers site in Essex which was cleared of most of its occupants last autumn.

Lower Kingswood Residents' Association has sent a pro-forma objection letter to every household in the village and an unusually high number of responses have been sent to Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, mostly using the set letter.

While the reason given is fundamentally objection to development of the green belt, residents told the Mirror they feared a Gypsy site would lower the tone of their neighbourhood.

A mum of two young children from Lower Kingswood, who didn't want to be identified, said: "People are worried. The whole Dale Farm situation is at the back of everyone's mind. We bought here because it is such a beautiful area and we don't want this affecting that. There is a concern it will get out of hand with more families moving in."

A Babylon Lane resident added: "Without being racist, people just don't like the idea of having Gypsies living here, they fear it is going to bring the neighbourhood down."

He said the green belt issue was not the reason for the wave of opposition. "We all try to protect the green belt but I don't think that's the big problem here," he added. "We don't want Gypsies living next to us. People are scared of that."

But David Patel, chairman of the Lower Kingswood Residents' Association, said: "We are concerned about any application which encroaches on the green belt, irrespective of whoever does it. The residents' association felt that villagers needed to know about it and that is all it was.

"We distributed a letter to every household in the village, then it is up to the individual to decide how they feel."

He said it was the first time he could recall a letter going round the entire village about a planning application.

The Kingswood Residents' Association has also objected, on the grounds that the development could set a precedent, and the Chipstead Residents' Association is also opposed to the scheme.

Applicant Miley Connors, 47, a landscaper, has lived on the site for two years with his wife and three children.

He said: "I am very shocked. I can't believe 250 people have opposed it. It's green belt behind me too but there are six caravans there. It won't be a builders yard. It's for my family to be together.

"People are lovely here," he added, "but maybe they are nice to your face and saying other things behind your back."

His wife Bridget was also shocked by the level of opposition. "We have never had any hostility," she said.

The council is set to determine the application by September 14.