PLANS for six plots for travelling showpeople to park mobile homes in the Green Belt between Lyde Green and Westerleigh have been approved.
South Gloucestershire councillors voted 8-1 to give permission for mobile homes, trucks and trailers with fairground equipment, to stay on land at Oakleigh Green Farm Lane, north of the M4.
Westerleigh Parish Council and 14 residents objected on grounds including inappropriate development in open countryside and traffic safety, because the site is near an oil terminal and a pig abattoir, which have lorries and tankers entering and exiting each day.
Puma Energy, which runs the fuel storage facility, objected, saying there were 300 daily HGV movements to and from its business, an average of one every two minutes over 10 hours.
But transport officers said the application by travelling showman Joe Maggs on behalf of his family, who have lived in the area for more than 30 years, was acceptable because the road access had adequate visibility and that the amount of extra traffic from six plots would not cause congestion.
Council development manager Marie Bath told a planning committee meeting: “The council cannot meet the needs of travelling showpeople and this is a significant material factor in the determination of the application. It is a worsening situation. In 2017 our need was for 31 additional plots. Our need is now 65 by 2042.”
She said this was in addition to an extra 132 Gypsy and traveller pitches needed.
Ms Bath said: “This site is immediately available, it’s not isolated and significant weight is given to the fact the site will be occupied by children.”
She said the lack of plots elsewhere meant there were “very special circumstances” which meant the benefits of the scheme clearly outweighed the harms.
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service