'Danger to life' if Newark and Sherwood District Council gives permanent permission to Traveller site on Tolney Lane

A temporary Gypsy and Traveller caravan site in Newark would be a ‘danger to life’ if planning permission is granted on a permanent basis, a council says.

Newark Town Council and The Environment Agency are worried the development sits within an area prone to flooding.

But applicants Mssrs Bower are calling on Newark and Sherwood District Council to make Park View Caravan Park on Tolney Lane permanent. The site is a former abattoir.

Currently, the site is in temporary use as a Traveller site for up to 15 caravans and had planning permission until November 30, 2021.

Newark Town Council is objecting to the plans on the grounds the application is in a high-risk flood area which it said poses a danger to life.

The Environment Agency also said the site lays within a flood zone and has a high probability of flooding.

District council documents state the main considerations of the application are the significant unmet need and the absence of a five-year land supply for Gypsy and Traveller pitches, and flood risk.

A Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) demonstrates a need for 118 pitches to meet the needs of the community up to 2033.

It is accepted the authority has a considerable shortfall in being able to demonstrate a five-year land supply, and a sizeable overall requirement which needs to be addressed, documents read.

But a report prepared for a planning meeting on Tuesday next week states: “National policy is very clear that permission should not be granted for this highly-vulnerable use in areas at that level of flood risk.

“Whilst it is acknowledged that this site has already benefited from two consecutive temporary permissions, as it stands officers are unable to provide support for the granting of permanent consent.”

The district said the purpose of granting temporary consent was to cater for the applicants’ immediate accommodation needs while allowing for the possibility of identifying other safer sites.

It added it was pro-actively pursuing suitable sites to meet future Gypsy and Traveller needs in the area.

The report concludes: “To allow permanent occupation of a site at such high risk of flooding would put occupiers of the site and members of the emergency services at unnecessary risk.”

Councillors will make a decision on Tuesday.