Gypsy and traveller site expansion refused

People living on a caravan site at the edge of a city have been told to move out after an inspector ruled the development caused "very substantial" harm.

South Cambridgeshire District Council had already refused permission to position 18 homes at Grassy Corner Caravan park on the edge of Cambridge, saying it encroached into the greenbelt.

An appeal was heard by a planning inspector, who recognised there was a need for Gypsy and traveller homes in South Cambridgeshire, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They said despite this, the park off Fen Road had been expanded beyond the granted planning permission and did "not provide satisfactory living conditions for Gypsies and travellers".

Permission was originally given for the caravan site in the 1980s. A report said there were now 35 caravans on the site, with 11 of those on the original site and the 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 laid and caravans moved on to the wider site without planning permission.

A number of appeals were lodged against the notice, which called for the hardstanding and extra caravans to be removed.

The planning inspector said the appellants claimed the site was providing pitches for Gypsies and travellers, as well as Ukrainian refugees and asylums seekers.

The appellants also said there was permission for 23 caravans, which could not all fit on the original site.

However the inspector said there was not evidence to support either claim, and it was "far from certain" that consent had been given for 23 caravans.

They concluded the extended development "significantly diminishes the open and rural character of the countryside".

The planning inspector also questioned the suitability of the site for Gypsy and traveller families.

They said: "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 upheld the enforcement notice and said people had six months to move, allowing a longer time period for the hardstanding to be removed.

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