Councillors reject Travellers' site plans at Tytherington Road nursery in Thornbury - Gloucestershire

From the Gazette

WORRIED residents opposed to the creation of a Travellers' site on their doorstep in Thornbury have been backed by their town council.

In June, the Fry family lodged an application for six gypsy pitches, to accommodate six mobile homes and six touring caravans complete with six day rooms, at the former Tytherington Road Nursery.

They also asked for permission for two transit pitches to welcome their relatives and friends for short periods of time, two toilet blocks and a large shed on the four acre plot.

After hearing locals' pleas to formally object to the plans, Thornbury Town Council agreed to write to South Gloucestershire Council opposing the application.

Cllr Maggie Tyrrell told the Gazette one of the councillors' main objection to the plans was the fact the nursery was beyond the town's development boundary. The site's proximity to the mothballed Tytherington Quarry was also top of their list of reasons for refusal.

"It's quite outside the development boundary," she said. "It's right next to the quarry and we feel it would be dangerous, especially for young children."

Drainage and the possibility of leaching through the ground was also an issue for councillors, as was the fact that the caravans would be out of keeping with the surrounding properties and the potential impact the Travellers' site would have on the property market around the old nursery.

Although now out of the town council's hands, Cllr Tyrell reassured residents that the application would go through every step of the planning procedure.

"I just want to reassure residents that it will be fully debated in public when the officers have done their background work and research," she said.

In his application Robert Fry, whose grandparents and relatives were all born locally, explained that it was important for his family to move out of their current village home into caravans to ensure his children were raised in the Traveller culture and tradition.

A total of 12 adults and 13 children would share the 4.04 acre field. The family is expected to take over running the nursery.

But Mr Fry's pledge of good faith has not assuaged nearby residents' concerns. Some blasted the proposal on South Gloucestershire Council's website.

"The local community would be totally overwhelmed by an influx of this size," wrote Gail Parker, of Grovesend. "It should be remembered that we too have a culture that we wish to preserve for future generations."

Terri Cuff, from Tytherington, added: "If this planning permission had been approved at the time I viewed our property, I would not have purchased the property at all. There are no benefits to existing residents at all - quite the opposite."

But Sally Woodbury, speaking on behalf of the Fry family, said the town council and residents' reasons for opposing the application were not reasonable.

"It's nothing that we didn't expect," she said. "With regards to the safety in the quarry, there are children in the area nearby. This is not a valid reason for objection. The town council should know better.: She added that there was no link anywhere in the country between the creation of caravan pitches and a drop in property value nearby.

"People are saying that their property value will go down because of the Travellers' site but a study carried out by parliament has said that there is no evidence of that."