Plans for permanent traveller site submitted

An unauthorised development has been set up in Unstead Lane, Bramley

Plans to establish a permanent traveller site on land earmarked for inclusion in the Surrey Hills National Landscape have been submitted.

It comes as witnesses reported several caravans at the site in Unstead Lane, Bramley, which sparked anger among residents.

A petition has been launched calling for immediate action to the taken, citing concerns over the green belt land.

Guildford Borough Council said it understood residents' concerns.

The planning application was submitted on 13 September.

'Law of the land'

Conservative councillor Jane Austin, whose Bramley and Wonersh ward is near the site, said the field was "deemed to be high quality".

"The land is on floodplain and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. They won't ever be legally built," she said.

She added that while residents agreed that the traveller community needed somewhere to live, but everybody should "follow the law of the land".

Meanwhile. Jeremy Hunt, MP for Godalming and Ash, questioned why there was "little action" to address unauthorised encampments in the county.

Nearby residents will be contacted about the plans and given the opportunity to submit their views before a final decision is confirmed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Guildford Borough Council said that officers had visited the encampment and completed background work "to gain a full understanding of the situation".

"If a breach of planning control is confirmed on any site in the borough, we have several enforcement options including negotiation and formal action," a council spokesperson said.

They added that enforcement powers available to local authorities did "not achieve an instant solution".

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