Leatherhead man accuses 'anti-Gypsy' council of hounding him - Surrey

From the Leatherhead Advertiser

A GYPSY who has won the right to stay on disputed land has accused the council of "hounding" him.

Jimmy Turner, 60, won a two-and-a-half-year legal battle over the land in north Leatherhead last week, when he was granted planning permission by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Mr Turner was twice refused permission to stay on the land – which has no legal owner – by Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) after defeating an injunction to remove him.

"They are anti-Gypsy," he said: "I hate them because of what they've done to me. They have hounded me now for years, they just don't want me here."

Mr Turner has spent the winter in Leatherhead for the past 24 years, but in the summer he heads north to visit family and traveller fairs.

He moved on to the land in Kingston Road for the first time just over four-and-a-half years ago, but returned for his third winter to find the council had taken an injunction against him. "The thing about this land is it's not green belt," he said. "They tried to say my caravan didn't look right here.

"What's the difference between my caravan here and the lady next door having a caravan? There's no difference at all, except I'm a Gypsy."

Mr Turner, who has 16 grandchildren, said the battle cost him £6,800 and resulted in stress and sleeplessness, so he is delighted with last Thursday's decision in his favour.

"I've been stuck here for two-and-a-half years (because his lawyers advised him not to vacate) but now I've got planning permission I can go away again and that's brilliant," he said.

"It's not like the old days. We used to be able to stop on the verges but now after two or three days they move you on.

"That's why we've got to settle down. We don't want to settle down; it's just the way society is now."

An MVDC spokeswoman said the council recently put "significant investment" into extra Gypsy and traveller pitches at three sites in the district, and were meeting the community to find out about future needs.

Council leader Chris Townsend said: "While this is an unexpected decision, and not one that we agree with, MVDC understands why the appeal was allowed.

"We appreciate that the appellant received a lot of local support. The level of local support in this case was one of the factors that determined the inspector to grant the appeal and we are satisfied that permission is personal to this appellant and that it was allowed because of his situation."