Somerset Council has granted retrospective planning permission for the expansion of The Stables travellers’ site located at the junction of Isle Abbotts Road and Stowey Lane in Fivehead. The decision allows the site to accommodate an additional seven families, increasing its capacity beyond the original five pitches approved earlier this year.
Previously, the site was authorized to host five travellers’ pitches, each equipped with day rooms, mobile homes, and touring caravans. The recent extension includes extending the gravel track southwards, creating space for seven new pitches and additional parking facilities.
To address environmental concerns, a new package treatment plant will be installed at the southern edge of the site. This system is designed to offset phosphates from the additional pitches, ensuring there is no net increase in phosphate levels affecting the sensitive Somerset Levels and Moors.
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XL Planning Ltd., representing the applicant Joe Smith, emphasized the necessity of the extension. They explained that personal circumstances required the applicant, who identifies as gypsy by definition, to move their family onto the site before obtaining formal approval. The applicant owns the land, which is modest in size and unsuitable for agricultural use, making it ideal for this purpose. Furthermore, there is an identified need for more gypsy and traveller sites in the Somerset area.
Senior planning officer Eren Balkir highlighted in her report that some of the applicant’s relatives have already lived on the site for approximately eight months, including several young children. Observations confirmed the presence of two larger mobile homes and five smaller touring caravans on site, all occupied by family members.
The undeveloped portion of the field will remain as open space intended for drainage and environmental planting. Plans include establishing a new hedgerow and planting around a dozen trees to help integrate the site into the surrounding landscape.
The council approved the expansion through delegated powers rather than referring the matter to the planning committee for South Somerset, reflecting the application’s relatively minor status within the local planning framework.