Four traveller pitches at Land To The North East Of Chalk Farm Lane, Newport

What was proposed

The application sought retrospective permission for four traveller pitches, each with one static and one mobile caravan, plus access, parking and associated works.

“This is a section 73A Retrospective application for change of use to accommodate 4 no. traveller pitches (including 1 no. static caravan and 1 no. mobile caravan each) together with associated development, parking and access road (including engineering operations to reprofile the earth bunds). The application does not propose dwellinghouses.”

“This is a section 73A Retrospective application for change of use to accommodate 4 no. traveller pitches (including 1 no. static caravan and 1 no. mobile caravan each) together with associated development, parking and access road (including engineering operations to reprofile the earth bunds). The application does not propose dwellinghouses.”

Officer report

The site and surroundings

The site is open land near Newport, with earth bunds, nearby fields, a quarry, homes, the railway, public rights of way and local services.

“The application site comprises open land, located to the south-east of Newport. The site has a high earth bund with an access gap on the southern boundary, an undulating topography sloping up north and sharp slopes along the northern and eastern site boundaries. The southern part of the site was occupied by caravans and the land and earth bund were recently reprofiled through engineering operations (without permission).”

“North, north-east and north-west of the site are arable fields and south- east is a chalk quarry. West of the site are some residential properties, the railway line and the village of Newport. The site is close to the Newport Railway Station and the High Street. Chalk Farm Lane is a public byway and there is a public footpath further north from the site.”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended approval because the site was accessible, traveller-site need was unmet, alternative accommodation was unavailable, and benefits outweighed limited harm.

“The Council is unable to demonstrate a supply of 5 years’ worth of sites, as required by the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS, 2024), and would comply with Core Policy 60 of the eLP which supports windfall traveller sites subject to addressing an identified need and other criteria – given the shortfall, this would attract significant weight.”

“The Neighbourhood Plan does not benefit from the protections of paragraph 14 of the NPPF here because of the unmet need for this type of housing. Consequently, when assessed against the policies in the NPPF taken as a whole, and as there are no other material considerations indicating otherwise, the adverse impacts of the proposals would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, having particular regard to key policies for directing development to…”

Officer report

Who spoke

The agent spoke in support, while a councillor and another speaker emphasised the need for robust conditions; one councillor recused herself after speaking publicly.

Members’ discussion

Members discussed parish council views, the sealed cesspit, landscape, the four-pitch limit and adding bin areas to the conditions.

“In response to questions from Members, officers: • Confirmed the sewage treatment arrangements that would be in place, including a sealed cesspit. All covered by Condition 10. • Said there was still a shortfall of allocated traveller sites. • Said the location was sustainable. • Said that the Neighbourhood Plan was “silent” on traveller sites and therefore defaulted to the Emerging Local Plan. • Confirmed that BNG metric had been cleared by Place Services Ecology.”

“Members discussed: • The views expressed by Newport PC • The sealed cesspit. • Landscape issues. • Condition 3 which ensured that there were no more than 4 pitches on the site at any time.”

Minutes

The committee vote

Councillor Silcock proposed approval with a bin-area condition, Councillor Sutton seconded, and the committee authorised permission.

“Councillor Silcock said that there was clearly a need for this development and proposed approval of the application, together with ensuring that a condition covered bin areas. This was seconded by Councillor Sutton.”

“RESOLVED that the Strategic Director of Planning be authorised to grant permission for the development subject to the conditions set out in section 17 of the report together with a condition covering provision of bin areas.”

Minutes