Residents unhappy with 'lack of enforcement' over Gypsy site - Surrey

From Get Surrey

Neighbours of a Gypsy site in Ottershaw that has permission to temporarily expand have slammed the decision as a ‘cynical attempt to manipulate the planning process’.

Dozens of protestors from Ottershaw Park crammed into the crowded public gallery for a meeting of Runnymede Borough Council’s planning committee to hear a majority of councillors agree that Willow Farm could be expanded to four pitches for an extended Traveller family for a period of three years.

The site has been used by Travellers for more than a decade, despite them having no permission to be there and has been subject to a long history of applications, appeals and court decisions.

Councillor Howard Butterfield read a letter from some 200 members of the Ottershaw Park Estate Company, made up of residents unhappy with what they call the council’s ‘lack of enforcement’.

The letter stated that if the site’s current occupants had not shown ‘disregard’ for the planning process, the group might be willing to accept the temporary approval, given the lack of alternative Traveller accommodation in the borough.

But it added: “Residents feel frustrated by Runnymede’s lack of enforcement, which has allowed this saga to continue, to the detriment of everyone involved.

“We do acknowledge that the Travellers need somewhere to live and they have been poorly served by the borough council, which has failed to accommodate Gypsies in suitable sites in the borough. But what is there in this application to demonstrate that this is anything other than yet another cynical attempt to manipulate the planning process?”

Many councillors agreed with the protestors’ verdict, with Cllr John Ashmore decreeing that if this application was allowed, it would ultimately create a permanent Gypsy site at Willow Farm.

Others, including Cllr Hugh Meares, asked for assurances that if the site was found to be in breach of permission in the future, the occupants would face eviction but committee chairman Geoffrey Woodger said it would have to be looked at on its ‘merits at the time’, provoking groans from the public gallery.

Cllr Gail Kingerley, committee vice chairman, stressed that approval was only a temporary measure, adding: “It will allow us more control of the situation than there would otherwise be if it were refused and went to appeal.”

Cllr Butterfield reminded those present that he represented the family at Willow Farm, as well as the residents of Ottershaw Park, saying: “They have lived with the spectre of enforcement action for more than 10 years.”