Planning permission for travellers’ site in rural North Devon hamlet quashed by High Court

A decision by North Devon Council to approve two travellers’ pitches in a field near Brayford has been quashed by the High Court.

It follows a judicial review requested by environmental charity Devon CPRE and means North Devon Council must now redetermine the application if approved earlier this year.

The part retrospective application for travellers’ pitches at Charles near Brayford was granted by the council’s planning committee on May 27, but only for the use of one family, that of applicants Philip and Kathleen Doran.

Devon CPRE said it had challenged the decision “on behalf of local residents” because it “regularised the encampment of several traveller caravans on an agricultural field.”

The charity sought the judicial review on several grounds relating to the environmental effects of the encampment at Charles and at court two of the four grounds argued were conceded by the council and so the consent was formally quashed on October 6.

The court ordered the application be returned to the council to be determined again.

Steve Crowther, chairman of Devon CPRE, said: “This decision is the right one, and the only fair one.

“This encampment was set up with no authorisation, in a field adjacent to a village of fewer than 50 residents. The occupants demolished a hedge bank to create a new entrance and made serious alterations to the site without planning permission. Most importantly, Devon Highways strongly opposed retrospective consent for the site on safety grounds.”

Mr Crowther said the council “chose to grant part-retrospective consent because it said it had insufficient designated GRT (Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) sites in North Devon.”

He went on: “This is no way to run a planning system. The planning laws should apply to everyone equally and should be enforced.

“If this isolated rural site had been proposed as a GRT site it would have failed to meet the planning criteria on multiple grounds. As it is, the council has admitted that it failed to require a biodiversity net gain commitment from the applicants or a wildlife report for the site.

“CPRE has been fighting for 100 years to ensure that rural communities have a robust and even-handed planning system that protects our landscapes and rural assets, while allowing law-abiding citizens to undertake necessary and appropriate developments with democratic consent.

“Almost all of the planning laws and protections that stand behind rural communities were originally devised and driven into law through the efforts of CPRE.

“We will not stand by while people flout those laws.”

A resident who did not wish to be named, added: “We are incredibly grateful to Devon CPRE. They listened to the local community and were prepared to help us. We were shocked when the council permitted it.

“The council may well have to provide a certain number of pitches across the district, but it doesn't mean this is the right location for one! It isn't. We are so glad the court made this decision.”

The applicant’s agent told the Gazette: “We await the council’s reassessment now that it has been returned to them for determination.”

North Devon Council will provide a statement to the Gazette and we will follow up or include this when it is available.