An appeal to keep caravans for Gypsies, Travellers and refugees on a site off Fen Road in Cambridge has been rejected.
A planning inspector said Grassy Corner Caravan Park had been expanded beyond the planning permission granted and it did “not provide satisfactory living conditions for Gypsies and Travellers”.
Grassy Corner Caravan Park, off Fen Road in Cambridge
Permission for the caravan site dates back to the 1980s. A report said there were now 35 caravans on site, with 11 on the original site and others on land between that and the boundary of the River Cam towpath.
An enforcement notice was issued by South Cambridgeshire District Council, stating that hardstanding had been put down and caravans moved on to the wider site without permission.
The notice called for the caravans to be removed and the hardstanding taken up.
A number of appeals were lodged against the notice and the matter was taken to the Planning Inspectorate.
The planning inspector said the appellants told them the site was providing pitches for Gypsies and Travellers, as well as Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers, although the inspector said there was no supporting evidence.
The appellants argued the extended caravan site should be deemed lawful as they claimed there was permission for 23 caravans, which could not all fit on the original site.
They also claimed there had already been “extensive pre-existing hardstanding” on the extended site.
However, the inspector deemed it “far from certain” whether consent had been given for 23 caravans, and said the evidence provided did not support the appellant’s claims.
“Clearly the extended caravan site land has been open, vegetated and undeveloped for a considerable period,” said the inspector.
“In my view, prior to the current development that land contributed positively to the aim and purposes of the green belt.
“The stationing of caravans and the associated infrastructure, hardstanding and domestic paraphernalia has had the effect of substantially reducing the openness of this previously undeveloped land.”
The inspector added that the extension of the site was a “visually intrusive and urbanising form of development”, which they said “significantly diminishes the open and rural character of the countryside”.
The inspector also questioned the suitability of the site for Gypsy and Traveller families.
They said: “On layout, this has apparently been designed to comply with caravan site licensing conditions for residential sites.
“It might well do so in terms of caravan spacing, but in my experience it would not provide satisfactory living conditions for Gypsies and Travellers, who are, by definition, persons of nomadic habit of life.
“At a very basic level, there is no pitch demarcation, no space for touring caravans, no provision of sanitary facilities outside of the static caravans, typically a cultural necessity, and no facilities for children’s play.
“The very basic and stark layout has, in my view, had no regard to the needs of Gypsies and Travellers.”
The inspector recognised the unmet need for Gypsy and Traveller homes in South Cambridgeshire – a factor given “significant weight” in the decision.
However, the inspector said the harm caused by the development was “very substantial” and could not be outweighed by the need for more pitches.
The enforcement notice was upheld, giving those impacted six months to move.
The inspector noted that there was a high turnover on the site, which suggested that many people were looking for somewhere else to live. The inspector said a longer period would be allowed for the hardstanding to be removed.