Traveller site expansion plans expected to go ahead - Surrey

From Get Wokingham

Plans to expand a Traveller site on to green belt land are expected to be given the go-ahead on Wednesday.

An application to add 0.58 hectares of land to Twyford Orchards Traveller site, in London Road, will be discussed by Wokingham Borough Council’s planning committee at the civic offices in Shute End from 7pm.

Plans include increasing the number of pitches from 16 to 20, to tackle overcrowding on the site.

The extension will house families living on the site and is not intended to allow more people to move to the council-owned Twyford Orchards.

A report about the plans states that although the site is within the green belt and a Gypsy and Traveller site is not appropriate development for the land, the plans are classed as special circumstances and are recommended for approval.

In the report Ruscombe Parish Council, which is objecting to the plans, states: “While Ruscombe Parish Council has every sympathy for the impact on living conditions for residents, there is resentment amongst some other parish residents that Travellers have the right to expect accommodation for their extended families – a right not available to everyone.”