Gipsy site bid for village

An application has been submitted to change the use of a paddock in Collingham to a gipsy and traveller caravan site.

An injunction was granted in London’s High Court on Good Friday ordering no further development to take place at the site on West Brook Lane, and for any hard surfaces to be removed.

Hardcore had been unloaded from lorries and was piled up in a field.

An application by Mr Archie Smith, of Appleby Lodge, Barnby Road, Newark, has been submitted to Newark and Sherwood District Council for change of use of the paddock to a gipsy and traveller caravan site.

The application said the land was to be divided into four, in which Mr Smith, Mr Edward Biddle, of Ashthorpe Road, Leicester, Jaqueline Smith, of Beacon Hill View, Barnby Road, Newark, and Mr Steven Coates, of Richmond Drive, Grantham, would have an interest.

The application said those four and their families were bona fide members of the gipsy and traveller community.

The application said the site was surrounded by fields, the closest homes were 150m to the west and 75m to the south, the site was 11/2 miles from the centre of Collingham which had shops, medical facilities and a school. It said the effect on the landscape and character of the countryside or setting would be minimised, and the development would have no adverse impact on nearby residents.

It quoted a planning policy that said more sites for the gipsy/traveller community were needed in the East Midlands. It said in Newark and Sherwood, 84 more pitches were required for 2007-2012.

It said historically in Newark and Sherwood gipsy-travellers had been accommodated within Newark’s Tolney Lane sites.

It said not all members of the gipsy/traveller community wanted to live there.

Each pitch would cater for a single family. Initially hardstandings for two touring caravans per pitch would be provided. At a later date, it said, each pitch would accommodate a mobile home and a touring caravan.

At first the families would use sanitary facilities within the eight touring caravans but it was hoped planning consent would be granted for an amenities block on each of the four pitches.

Hedgerows would be planted along each of the three boundaries to reduce the visual impact of the caravan site on the surrounding area and to ensure the site remained private.

The district council will make the final decision.