Musbury travellers' site plan opposed

One councillor will head to the barricades

People in Musbury, near Colyton in East Devon, are cross about plans for a travellers' site in the village.

Devon County Council-owned Baxter's Farm, near the local pub and village  hall - could be set aside for mobile homes. The council's selling the site, although the fields will still be farmed. Now East Devon District Council draft development document says it would be ideal for travellers.

A hundred villagers who turned out on Wednesday night to debate the plans were strongly against the scheme. Resident Colin Small said opposition was "unanimous" 

Devon County Council says they're disappointed by East Devon's plans, as they're working with others to look at alternatives.

One councillor's said he'll head to the barricades. When the draft Development Brief was considered by East Devon’s Strategic Planning Committee last month, Cllr Graham Godbeer, who grew up in Musbury, said: “If the idea of a traveller site gained any sort of traction at all, I would be the first one on the barricades. I think the village would be totally, totally against it.”

The aim of the development brief is to provide clear guidance for the development of the site and any future planning application.

When outlined at the Strategic Planning Committee, officers said: “There is a draft for the site to convert the existing buildings into residential buildings, and there is space around the buildings that could be used for a community orchard, or more controversially, as a traveller site. The logic of that, which is the most controversial element of it, is that we have a need for gypsy and traveller sites in the district and we are struggling to identify sites. It is potentially suitable for a small group of travellers for a particular need for a group we have in that part of the district who are on an unauthorised, but tolerated site, in that part of the district, so there is a potentially opportunity to move them to this site, due to the impending closure of a long-term tolerated local site.”

The development brief says that a housing development is the most likely development to come forward and would be designed to meet the local need, particularly for those requiring smaller, two and three bedroom homes and affordable housing. The existing farmhouse, stone outbuilding and garden must be retained in any future development and there would be access to the community orchard. Around nine houses could be built on the site, split into two short terraces of three houses and three detached houses with larger gardens.

Land to the south of the site could potentially accommodate around four traveller families, if such a proposal came forward. The council says it's also looking at alternative sites nearby. Consultation goes on till September the 10th.