Forest Gypsy’s Landford home bid planning appeal thrown out

A FOREST Gypsy’s long planning battle to establish a gypsy and traveller family pitch at Landford has been dismissed by a government inspector because it would harm the character and appearance of the area.

William ‘Billy’ Sherred had appealed against the national park authority’s refusal of planning consent at Brambley Hedge, Latchmore Drove, Lyndhurst Road, where he lives in a caravan that is the subject of an enforcement order for residential use of the site to cease.

He wanted to change the land use to provide a single gypsy and traveller family pitch with a static mobile home, dayroom, parking for a tourer caravan, two vehicle and cycle parking spaces, turning areas and other hardstandings.

The decision by inspector J Parsons follows a hearing which was told Mr Sherred was a Romany Gypsy who refers to being a Forest Gypsy with family ties to the Forest. The scheme proposed was said to support an associated traditional way of life.

The NPA had refused planning permission on the grounds of insufficient information to ascertain the Gypsy status of the appellant, but at the hearing this objection was withdrawn, finding he met the definition in the latest planning policy for travellers and showpeople.

But in dismissing the appeal the inspector, who considered submissions on the availability of traveller sites, ruled there would be harm to the character and appearance of the area, including the landscape and scenic beauty of the national park.

A separate decision will follow on Mr Sherred’s application for costs.