Arun gypsy and traveller site plan to go out to consultation

Limmer Pond Stables, Aldingbourne, Traveller Site, sourced from Google Maps

A revised Gypsy and Traveller development plan for Arun District Council is going to public consultation.

The council’s updated Gypsy, Traveller and Traveller Showpeople development plan document is to see an eight week public consultation period from December 13 to February 7 next year, before going to full council in March for approval and then to the Secretary of State for examination.

Public comments will be limited to a test of ‘soundness’ of the plan, meaning people can only comment on whether the plan as it currently stands is good or not.

Planning policy team leader for the council, Kevin Owen said flooding damage, highway access, and amenity and safety issues had impacted two proposed gypsy and traveller sites.

The ‘Dragonfly’ site and ‘Caravan Site’ off the A259 would be replaced by one large pitch in Little Meadow, Yapton.

The council says all the required sites, nine gypsy and traveller pitches and 14 traveller showpeople plots, would be accommodated within the plan.

They also said a 2023 access review of the sites showed that no ‘significant’ traffic impacts would be seen on highways, although some would need ‘visibility/safety’ measures in place.

Officers also said many of the sites might need to be reviewed as part of the upcoming local plan, with many sites to be ‘intensified’ – where the council uses an existing site to create more pitches and plots than are currently there.

The council’s planning policy committee unanimously approved the consultation and following approval process, delegating authority for amendments during examination with the Secretary of State to the Group Head of Planning.