Gipsy site rejected

Permission has been refused for a Gipsy and Traveller caravan site in Ollerton because the area has already exceeded its quota.

The application for change of use of a paddock at The Stables Caravan Park, Wellow Road, was discussed at Newark and Sherwood District Council’s planning committee on Tuesday.

Officers had recommended approval, despite saying that the town had already provided 29 out of 84 additional Gipsy and Traveller pitches needed in Newark and Sherwood, when a needs assessment said that only 18 were required and the rest should be in Newark.

Ollerton and Boughton Town Council objected to the proposal on that basis.

A town councillor, Mr Ray Shilling, disputed the figures, saying 35 permanent pitches had been created, along with 12 transient ones.

He said it was a greenfield site and the application would open the flood gates and set a dangerous precedent.

Committee vice-chairman Mr Ben Wells said: “Ollerton and Boughton is already well over the 28% that the needs assessment said should be found in the area.”

The committee voted nine to one to refuse the application.

The application was for separate pitches, roughly equal in size, in land that formed a small natural depression and would not be very visible. The pitches were for an extended family called Gray.

Ollerton Village Residents’ Association objected on the basis that further Gipsy and Traveller sites put increased pressure on services and that Wellow Road and Newark Road were busy locations.

In recommending approval, the council’s director of growth, Mr Colin Walker, said the small-scale nature of the proposal would not lead to significant detrimental pressure on existing facilities and services.

He said the site had safe access to Wellow Road and was suitable in light of the need for Gipsy and Traveller pitches, and that visual impact would be limited.