Disabled Gypsy wins court fight to remain on land at Cudham - Kent

From the Westerham Chronicle

A DISABLED Gypsy has won victory in the High Court.

Charmaine Moore, who lives as a Romani Gypsy in Cudham, has been fighting a battle to remain on land there

She moved to the site at Archies Stables, in Cudham Lane North, in July 2010, after being ordered to remove her caravan and horse box from the Housing Association property in Orpington which she lived in at the time.

Ms Moore, who suffers from joint laxity, meaning her bones can be dislocated very easily, came to Cudham with her three children, now aged 14, 13, and seven, despite having no planning permission to stay .

She was refused permission, first by the London Borough of Bromley, then by a government planning inspector.

But now she has won a ruling from Mrs Justice Cox at London's High Court, who said the inspector's decision to refuse her temporary permission to stay in order to give time for a lawful alternative to be found, was "irrational".

The judge ordered the case be and added that the probability that the family would have to leave and face a roadside existence, which would have a negative impact on Ms Moore's health, constituted "very special circumstances".

She added that Ms Moore, who also suffers from depression, has an "aversion to living in bricks and mortar."

Ms Moore had argued that the harm to the character and appearance of the area could be overcome by landscaping, if her caravan site was given time to blend in.