Three Traveller sites approved in Fenland village

Fenland District Council (FDC) has granted retrospective planning permission for three Traveller sites set up in a local village.

The sites in Wimblington, between Chatteris and March, consist of eight caravans and seven mobile homes.

The largest of the sites was set up on the paddock east of Cedar Rose Stables on Horsemoor Road while the smaller sites are on the land north-east of the paddock and on the corner between Horsemoor Road and Hook Road.

There are also two previously-approved Traveller sites in the area; one at Cedar Rose Stables and one at The Spinney on Hook Road.

The new site “has an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the local area”, according to FDC documents, and is “considered to result in a domineering impact upon the settled community”.

But, the council had its “back to the wall” when making the decision, said Councillor Will Sutton at this month's planning meeting.

The biggest factor in the decision was that the health and education of children at the site would likely be harmed if the Travellers were forced to move on.

“The welfare of children is of paramount importance,” said an officer's report. “The weight attached to these considerations, in this instance, outweighs the policy objections to the proposed development in the planning balance.”

Another issue is that FDC doesn’t have an up-to-date Gypsy and Traveller Needs Assessment (GTANA) which could potentially allow the council to argue that the sites aren’t needed.

FDC’s most recent GTANA, which identifies the number of pitches needed to meet demand in a particular area, was carried out in 2013.

Another was begun in 2019 but remains incomplete.

FDC planning officers explained: “A contractor was appointed but due to the inability to complete that work due to Covid that fell away.

“We were looking to appoint a new contractor, working hand-in-glove with a business that was hand-in-glove with the gypsy and traveller community, however there were some fundamental disagreements between the contractor and this organisation so we’re back to square one.”

FDC’s next step will be to discuss with other local authorities in the region whether to produce its own needs assessment or to produce one collaboratively.

The retrospective planning applications it approved around Cedar Roads Stable date back to 2021.