Appeal over Gypsy site - Wiltshire

From the Salisbury Journal

A ROW over a Gypsy site is still no closer to being resolved after almost two years of protests from neighbours over a planning application.

Residents in Alderbury and Clarendon have been fighting plans to turn land at Hillbilly Acre, Southampton Road into a four-pitch Gypsy site with eight mobile homes since April last year.

A retrospective planning application has already been turned down by Wiltshire Council and a planning inspector then ruled the development should not be allowed, but David Cooper and his family are now appealing against an enforcement notice issued by Wiltshire Council.

Inspector Richard Clegg ruled in July, following a lengthy planning inquiry, that the site would damage the character and appearance of the area and pose a serious threat to highway safety due to access problems.

Wiltshire Council’s officers then sought legal advice before serving an enforcement notice in October, but the appeal means another hearing will be held, probably not until the spring.

Mr Cooper is appealing against accusations of using land designated for agricultural use for residential purposes and for storage, and of constructing areas of hard surfacing and timber decking.

He is also alleged to have built a fence and numerous sheds and greenhouses on the land.

But he argues that the development should be allowed, the enforcement action is too late, that the requirements of the enforcement notice are excessive and the time given to comply is not long enough.