THE applicant in a bid to create a caravan site on green belt land is appealing a council decision.

It comes after plans to use green belt land in south Warrington to accommodate gipsy caravans were thrown out by Warrington Borough Council in March.

The site in question is a 0.35-hectare space to the west of Fir Tree Close in Stretton, currently grazing land and adjacent to an existing part five-berth gipsy caravan site.

Plans were for a change of use of the land to use as a residential caravan site for 10 gipsy families – but permission has been refused by planners.

Each could accommodate two caravans, including no more than one static caravan, together with the laying of hardstanding areas.

Planning permission was granted in 2018 for the change of the use of land at Manor Park to accommodate residential caravans for five gipsy families.

A document prepared by applicant Charles Smith states that since that time, the accommodation needs of the applicant’s extended family have grown.

The proposed mobile homes would have contained kitchen and bathroom facilities.

In refusing permission, the council said: “The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the green belt, which causes significant harm to openness and visual amenity and does not accord with the purposes of including land within the green belt.

“It is not considered that the information provided within the supporting statement submitted with the application provides sufficient detail to amount to very special circumstances that would clearly outweigh the harm to the green belt.

“This is by reason of inappropriateness, loss of openness, encroachment into the countryside and visual intrusion.”

Document submitted as part of the application stated: “Despite the undertaking given in the core strategy, the council has not allocated any land for the provision of gipsy sites.

“This means that, as of today, the council cannot demonstrate a five-year supply (nine permanent pitches) of deliverable land for gipsy sites.

“The unmet need, absence of a five-year supply and contribution that the proposed development would make to meeting the shortfall are all matters which should carry considerable weight in favour of this application.”

On green belt considerations, the document concludes: “It is accepted that the proposed development constitutes inappropriate development in the green belt, and that substantial weight must be attributed to this harm to the green belt.

“Extension of the existing caravan site would only result in a small net loss of openness in spatial terms and visually would not be prominently located or obtrusive in the landscape.

“The extended caravan site would be well screened from public view, and the visual impact on openness would be negligible.

“Apart from encroaching into the open countryside to a minor extent, the proposed development would not affect any of the other purposes of including land in the green belt.”

The Planning Inspectorate will rule on the appeal, with the appellant stating that there are ‘very special circumstances’ that go in the proposal’s favour.

These include an unmet need for sites outweighing potential harm to the green belt and personal circumstances of those using it.