Go-ahead urged for travellers’ caravan site on green belt land

It is proposed that eight pitches should be created to take residential caravans for travelling showpeople – those who travel around the country and host fairs, circuses and other shows – at a site to the east of South Elmsall, near Pontefract.

The site at Field Lane is in the green belt but council officers are recommending that the scheme is given the go-ahead because the authority needs to provide additional sites for travelling showpeople.

A report to members of Wakefield Council’s planning and highways committee says: “It is considered that the proposed use/development would constitute inappropriate development by definition and would result in a degree of harm to the openness and visual character of the green belt.”

But the report says that this harm has to be weighed against findings of the West Yorkshire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment which states there is a need for additional accommodation for travelling showpeople.

It adds: “On balance, it is concluded that the need for the development and the suitability of this site to accommodate the proposed use, do justify the ‘very special circumstances’ for the proposed development at this site which are considered to outweigh the harm by reason of inappropriateness and any other harm.

“Therefore, it is recommended that Members resolve to approve a permanent planning permission for this development at this site, subject to the imposition of planning conditions.”

Thirty two letters of objection have been received which raise a number of concerns, including the fact that a green belt site should not be used, it will impact upon a nearby site of special scientific interest, it will have “an undesirable impact on the wider regeneration of the area,” there are already existing traveller sites in close proximity and the proposal will have an “undesirable impact on the wider regeneration of the area.”

Objectors are also worried the site will generate noise and extra litter in the area and there will be an increase in anti-social behaviour.

There have also been seven letters of support received.

Some are submitted by members of the Showmen’s Guild outlining the need for extra sites for travelling showpeople and outlining why the site at South Elmsall meets their needs. Others are letters from land owners who have allowed showmen and their families to stay on their land and have provided positive testimonies about their conduct.

Council officers are recommending that councillors when they meet on Friday should back the plans put forward by Mr G Tucker, c/o Brimble, Lea and Partners, subject to a number of conditions being agreed.

The West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service says that the site lies “within an area likely to contain archaeological deposits associated with the Iron Age or Romano-British Period.” The report recommends that a survey is undertaken before any development begins on site.

A West Yorkshire Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment found that there was a shortfall in the number of sites for travelling showpeople in the Wakefield district.

Many showpeople are members of a community that have been taking part in this lifestyle for generations and although their work is mobile they argue they need secure, permanent bases for the storage of their equipment and for residential purposes.

The 2.1 hectare site, which is currently used for the grazing of horses, is located to the east of South Elmsall, near Pontefract, and the proposal also includes plans to create new access onto the site and a new access road to aid the movement of large vehicles to and from the site.