Flackwell Heath Gypsy site appeal inquiry begins - Buckinghamshire

From the Bucks Free Press

AN INQUIRY into a controversial Gypsy site in Flackwell Heath began this week to decide whether Wycombe District Council’s decision to refuse the application should be upheld.

Plans last year for the stationing of two mobile homes, two touring caravans and the erection of a utility/day room at the site of an old plant nursery on Heath End Road were rejected last year.

Applicant Gerard O’Connor decided to appeal the council’s decision and has since made another application to address the issues raised in the original plans.

The protection of trees at the site was a major objection when the first application was thrown out, and though the revised plans satisfied these concerns, the second proposal was also rejected by councillors in February.

However, these revisions will be taken into consideration during the appeal.

Flackwell Heath villagers vehemently oppose the Gypsy site, and set up the Residents Against Inappropriate Development (RAID) group last year to fight the plans to build on the Green Belt land.

The inquiry will also consider whether to allow an application from Patrick Murphy, related by marriage to the O’Connors, for a site in Walters Ash where the family currently reside.

Solicitor Alan Masters, acting for Mr Murphy, said there was a fundamental need for the families to be granted accommodation, and that permission for either site would be acceptable to them.

Mr Masters cited educational requirements as a major concern for the O’Connors, and claimed the Murphys’ health needs should be taken into consideration since Patrick Murphy Jnr suffers from Cerebral Palsy.

He said: "In this case, material considerations of the case should outweigh the restrictions, and these special circumstances should be taken into account to grant permission."

Robin Green, acting for WDC, stated that although a shortfall of Gypsy and traveller sites had been identified, the special circumstances in this case were not strong enough to warrant permission.

Instead, he argued the council’s refusal should be upheld on the grounds of inappropriate building on the Green Belt, and in the case of the Walters Ash site, on an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Clive Hughes, nominated by the Secretary of State to hear the case, said it was "not a beauty contest" between the two sites in terms of deciding which, if any, should be approved.

He maintained both applications can be refused, or both accepted, depending on whether he felt the special circumstances of the Gypsy families outweighed the planning restrictions for the land.

The inquiry is set to finish early next week, with a site visit due to be undertaken before any decision is reached.