Application for Four Traveller Pitches Made Opposite Gypsy Traveller Site in Monmouthshire

PLANS for four Traveller pitches have been put forward for land opposite a site earmarked for a Gypsy Traveller site. 
Monmouthshire County Council’s replacement local development plan identified land at Bradbury Farm beside Crick Road in Crick as suitable for development of up to seven Gypsy Traveller pitches. That plan is awaiting examination by an independent inspector. 
Any development of the site put forward by the council would still require a full planning application but should the development plan be approved by the inspector, and then adopted by the full council, it would establish which areas would in principle be acceptable for development. 
A separate, private application has now been made to the council’s planning department to develop agricultural land on the opposite side of Crick Road for four Traveller pitches. 
The plan also proposes a new access and a private a sewage treatment plant and ecological enhancements at the field beside existing stables. 
The application has been submitted by John Johnson for the site known as Jon’s Yard Fields which is adjacent to Little Ballan at Little Ballan Lane in Crick. 
The site is south of the M48, and described as 0.75 kilometres north east of Caldicot. 
Plans show there would be four pitches for static caravans, laid out side by side and separated by 1.5 metre high fences, each with a day room and parking for two vehicles and a touring caravan. 
Existing hedges at the west of the site, and at the east bordering Crick Road, will be retained and protected or enhanced with additional planting. 
Tree planting is also proposed for the northern boundary of the site between the proposed pitches and the existing stables while there would be an access to the stables and a field gate to the paddock to the south of the site which is already in Mr Johnson’s ownership. 
Two objections to the plans have been sent to Monmouthshire County Council’s planning department which is considering the application. 
Both have raised highway concerns as well as the impact on Crick, which one objector described as a hamlet. 
One described the site as on a “dangerous bend” with limited views of a “narrow and busy road” without footpaths or a bus service. 
The objector said there is already a Traveller site in the “small hamlet” and raised concerns regarding a second and a “huge local development of houses” which it said would put pressure on local services including schools, doctors and dentists. 
They said: “The scale of a second traveller site in the same hamlet significantly outweighs the nearby community and will greatly alter the local character.” 
The second objector stated: “The site is located within a community-focused area, and the scale and nature of the proposed development would be out of keeping with the established character of the surroundings.” 
Concerns were also raised about the environmental impact while the application includes a 34 page preliminary ecological appraisal. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​