LAND in Winterbourne Earls will be used as a site for travellers, a planning inspector has ruled.

An appeal to turn a plot to the north of Broken Cross Bridge in Winterbourne Earls into a residential caravan site for travellers has been successful.

Lee Johnson made an application to Wiltshire Council to change the use of land currently used for grazing to a residential caravan site for one Gypsy family with two caravans in May 2016. The plans also included constructing an access driveway and building an amenity building.

Mr Johnson, who is a Romany Gypsy, has not lived on a settled base for 16 years, but has been “hovering” around Wiltshire, according to the application.

Mr Johnson’s agent said his children, aged six, nine and 16 have not had regular schooling because of their “transient, roadside existence”.

Sarah McKerlie, of Ford, responded to the proposal saying she also had concerns over vehicle access. Mrs McKerlie She added: “The term ‘one Gypsy family’ is vague, and this may entail numerous members of this one family and their vehicles. We also have concerns that, if accepted, this will create a precedent in this area.”

“Salisbury already has two designated sites for gypsies and their families.”

Laverstock and Ford Parish Council (LFPC) objected to the application in July 2016, saying the access point would be a safety issue and it would “have an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of the countryside”.

LFPC also said the site did not meet criteria set out in Wiltshire’s Core Strategy ‘Meeting the Needs of Gypsies and Travellers’ as the site was not large enough for vehicle parking and circulation, residential amenity and play areas. The strategy sets out a target of creating 66 permanent pitches for gypsies between 2011 and 2016, with a further 42 by 2021, but Mr Johnson’s agent said only eight have been provided to date, indicating a “massive shortfall in provision in South Wiltshire”.

Wiltshire Council rejected the application in October last year because of the access point, inadequate footpaths leading to the site, and a lack of information about how the site would be drained of water or waste.

The proposal also did not provide any evidence that alternative accommodation had been considered when the application was made, the council said.

But an inspector has now granted permission for the site to be used by the family, saying it was a suitable location and would “go some way in providing for the unmet need, and in addressing the lack of supply”.

The inspector ruled that the site must now not be used “by any persons other than gypsies or travellers”, and that no more than two caravans could be on site at any one time.