Gypsy site proposed in Cadmore End - Buckinghamshire

From the Bucks Free Press

A STOKENCHURCH resident hopes to get planning approval for a Gypsy site in Green Belt land.

David Curtis, from New Road, has applied to build a Gypsy caravan site for nine pitches- five transit and four permanent.

He also wants to build a shower block and stables at the site called High Barns in Marlow Road, Cadmore End.

The land is in Green Belt and the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is currently unused.

In a Design and Access statement penned by agent Ronald Perrin, George Clark of Geoarchitecture Ltd and Mr Curtis, it said three of the permanent pitches will be rented out and Mr Curtis and his wife will live in a warden's pitch.

The statement said: "Its main purpose is to provide a number of transit pitches for Gypsies wanting a pitch on which to stay for a limited period of time. Transit sites are needed for a variety of purposes, including travelling in search of work, sometimes to fairs, missions or other events, for family occasions such as weddings and funerals, and simply just to holiday."

It is proposed the site will be screened by existing and proposed bunds. The statement addresses a need in the Wycombe district for more Travellers' sites.

An Interim Policy Statement identified two sites as suitable for permanent sites to meet short term need- Dry Banks, Oxford Road, Stokenchurch and Five Oaks Farm in Studley Green. No development has taken place at Dry Banks and Five Oaks has received retrospective planning permission and is privately used by the present applicant's family but it is full to capacity and will not be extended.

The statement added: "In my experience, it is the 'norm' for Gypsy caravan sites to be located in countryside locations, usually not too far from a village or town. They are rarely located in urban areas. Where the countryside is in a Green Belt, as is often the case around the Metropolitan Area, they are covered by that designation as well. Frequently there is no alternative, and the need to make provision often outweighs the harm caused to the Green Belt."

Mr Curtis and his wife, Caroline, are Gypsies and are well established in the local area.

Chairman of Lane End Parish Council, Mike Detsiny, said: "I can't anticipate what the council will do. It is nothing to do with whether you are in favour of Travellers or not. It will only be looked at on planning grounds. In the past we have rejected any application for anything on Green Belt."