Calls for Gypsy sites expansion on green belt

A planning inspector reported that "exceptional circumstances” justify changes to the green belt boundary for Gypsy sites

A planning inspector has advised a Kent council to extend Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GTR) pitches on green belt land due to rising demand.

He said Dartford Borough Council needed to deliver an extra 56 pitches for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers and one more for travelling showpeople.

Advocates for the community say local councils have “failed miserably in Gypsy provision” in the past.

A report by Philip Mileham, the planning inspector reviewing Dartford’s local plan, detailed a need to meet the growing demand for GRT sites.

Due to “significant competition” for land in Dartford and “insufficient” numbers of sites he says there are “exceptional circumstances” which “justify changes to the green belt boundary".

A site for showpeople, and 35 Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pitches, need to be deliverable “in the next five years”, according to Mr Mileham's report.

Joseph Jones, former director of the Gypsy Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “There’s a massive need throughout Kent."

He added: “We’re used to green belt, we’re used to green fields, that’s where we’ve lived for centuries because we’re constantly being pushed out to the peripheries of society."

Through the local plan process, councils can alter the boundaries of the green belt to allow development on land which otherwise would be protected.

The report identifies existing opportunities for this at sites in Eagle Farm in Wilmington, Eebs Stables in Trollingdown Hill, and Salinas at Darenth Wood Road.

Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite said the councils proposals may not "satisfy everyone who has made representations or provide all the sites the community feel they need" but that the council try to base their proposals on evidence and fairness.

Dartford council’s local plan for 2024 – 2037 is set for approval on 22 April.