Travellers have been refused permission to permanently occupy a site in the Bristol area. A planning application which would allow gypsies to permanently occupy fields on Henfield Road in Coalpit Heath has been refused by South Gloucestershire Council.
It comes despite claims from the applicant that the council is failing to provide space for travellers in the area. A planning statement was submitted by Ruston Planning on behalf of Larry Harvey, who was given permission in 2001 to set up his own mobile home on the land for the use of himself and his family.
And the statement claims that the council "has been unable for the last 26 years to allocate sites for Gypsy and Traveller use against both national policy and a ministerial direction". But a council officer refused permission to settle on the land, with one reason being that it is Green Belt land and so the application would not be "normally considered appropriate".
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The officers noted that there there is an "ongoing unmet need for gypsy pitches within South Gloucestershire". But they said that unrestricted permission for travellers to settle on the site would "not make a contribution to Gypsy and Traveller site provision and cannot be regarded as justification for the proposal" under the law.
And they added that permission for Mr Harvey to settle on the site was based on "personal circumstances" that would end if it was to become a general site for travellers. Last week, a group of travellers pitched up on the playing fields at Brimsham Green School in Yate.
A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said: "We are committed to supporting the varied communities that call South Gloucestershire home, including identifying and facilitating appropriate sites in the district that are suitable to accommodate travellers and gypsies. As part of this, through our Local Plan we allocate sites to accommodate the needs of our Gypsy/ Traveller communities and set out the policies we use to determine planning applications for new pitches
“Government policy requires planning authorities to assess the level of need for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in their area. Our existing evidence base, the Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Assessment (2017) showed there was a need for 75 additional permanent residential pitches to meet the needs of Gypsies/ Travellers in South Gloucestershire by 2032.
"The council has continued to deliver new pitches through the planning application process, reducing the level of need to from 75 to 54 pitches. We are currently refreshing our evidence base, to enable us to understand the level of need that we will seek to provide as we are required to keep this assessment under regular review.
"Once this work is complete, we will begin work to identify suitable land to deliver new provision through our new Local Plan, in line with national planning policy.”
