Gypsy site plan is thrown out following appeal - Staffordshire

From the Burton Mail

A PLAN to move a family of Travellers onto land near Burton has been thrown out by planners.

An application submitted by Charles Calladine to move two mobile homes as well as building a detached house on land in Barton Road, Yoxall, had already been dismissed by East Staffordshire Borough Council, and now the plan appears to be dead after the proposal was also rejected on appeal.

The inspector Kevin Nield said he had taken the circumstances of the Gypsy family and their need to find a need for a new home into account before making the decision, but decided that to reject the proposal on the grounds the development would be harmful to the countryside, leaving the Travellers having to look elsewhere to find a new place to live.

He also said that there wasn’t a need for any more Traveller sites in East Staffordshire.

He said: “I have found that the personal circumstances of the family and the need for alternative accommodation provide moderate weight in favour of the appeal scheme but that is outweighed by the harm to the rural character of the area and the lack of need for permanent Gypsy and Traveller pitches in this area.”