Barnack traveller site plans refused after strong objections from residents
Peterborough City Council’s planning committee unanimously agreed to refuse plans for a new traveller site in Barnack.
Michael McDonagh submitted a planning application which sought to change the use of agricultural land at The Orchard on Uffington Road into a caravan site for four gypsy/traveller families, each with two caravans.
The land is designated as countryside as it is located outside of the Peterborough Urban Boundary as well as the Barnack village envelope.
During the consultation stage, the application received 122 objections from members of the public citing concerns around access and potential harm to the countryside, while just six responses were received in support.
The council’s case officer Connor Liken recommended that the application should be refused following objections from highways services around safe access and from National Gas Transmission which noted the site was in a ‘high-risk zone’ from its apparatus.
A planning committee met at Sand Martin House in Peterborough on September 2 to discuss the proposal and consider the officer’s recommendation for refusal.
Barnack ward councillor Kevin Tighe told the committee he was “not surprised” that the highways department raised objections to the plans and described the development as “dangerous”.
Council officers noted that the development had already partially begun at the Barnack site and therefore the proposal would be classed as part retrospective.
Nial Casselden, a planning agent who spoke on behalf of Barnack Parish Council which objected to the plans, said: “The proposed development would generate a variety of environmental and amenity harms, which taking into account intentional unauthorised development, would not be outweighed by any established need.”
Phillip Hughes, on behalf of the Burghley House Preservation Trust, asked members to consider additional reasons for refusal including the site’s “unsustainable location”.
There were no speakers in support of the application at the planning meeting.
The council’s Draft Local Plan highlights a need for 72 pitches for gypsy and traveller households in Peterborough up to 2044, with 36 of these pitches needed during the first five years.
However, it was ultimately concluded that the benefits of Mr McDonagh’s proposal would not outweigh the harms identified and committee members unanimously agreed to refuse the application.