Rother in ‘a mess’ over travellers living on farm site

A number of concerned residents attended Battle Town Council’s meeting on Tuesday asking what action had been taken.

They were told that a delegation of councillors from Battle, including Mayor David Hussey and planning chairman Ron Harris had met with Rother Council chief executive Derek Stevens and other top officers and legal advisors.

Council chairman David Hussey described the situation as “a mess” and said: “We made the strongest representation we could and were very critical of Rother Council’s lack of action.”

“We explained our concerns in no uncertain terms.”

Three static caravans appeared on the farm in Loose Farm Lane around two months ago.

Battle town councillors launched a scathing attack on Rother’s planning department last month, claiming it failed to act after the caravans were built illegally on the site.

The town council also wrote to Rother demanding to know why no action was taken.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Cllr Ron Harris said: “One of our concerns was that we had been reporting to Rother for some time that some of these sites were about to be occupied and there was an expectation they would take out an injunction to prevent further sites being occupied.

“We pressed the point about their failure to take out injunctions and their response was that they had to follow procedures.

“They said they thought that an injunction would serve no purpose. They seem to be very process driven.

“We also questioned Rother’s lack of communication and good PR with local residents.

“Objections to the planning application were taken off Rother’s web site because they were worried that some of the terminology used was racist.

“I cannot be confident that further travellers will not appear on that site.”

Residents attending the meeting said they believed the whole site was being parcelled off in small plots.

Last month Cllr Harris said he saw the three caravans up for sale on the internet each for £30,000.

One resident commented: “Rother’s enforcement officer has known about this since the middle of May and has done nothing.

“Heavy machinery was working on the site all weekend and it seems another building has been erected.”

Rother District Council is currently looking for a suitable location for a permanent site for travellers.

Tony Leonard, the council’s director of services, said: “Senior officers and a councillor from Rother District Council met with members of Battle Town Council recently to help explain the situation.

“The town council has asked us to look into other areas of law on this matter, such as an injunction, but this would likely be viewed as a breach of the Human Rights Act and would be made difficult by the fact gypsy and traveller sites for the district have yet to be allocated, following the revocation of the South East Plan.

“Responsibility now falls on the council to conduct work to assess the needs of the traveller and gypsy community in the district.

“Under the circumstances, it would appear that the best way of dealing with matters such as this is awaiting the decision of the planning committee on the application submitted. This will consider the merits of the case on planning grounds.

“On the matter of letters of objection, all current objections will be accepted and considered.

“In this instance, some letters were removed from the website as they contained objections due to the personal characteristics of individuals, rather than issues relating to land use.

“They are welcome to submit letters which focus on land issues, after which they will be made available on the council’s website.”