Welsh council advised to refuse to legitimise the extension of traveller site

Elgan Hearn, Local democracy reporter

Councillors will be advised by county planners to refuse a proposal that would legitimise the extension of a traveller site.

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Planning committee on Thursday, January 29, councillors will receive a report on the latest planning application to extend the travellers site at Glyn Milwr, Stone Houses, Blaina.

A fresh planning application for the traveller site extension was lodged with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council back in September 2024.

It suspended enforcement action being taken by the council to remove families from the site.

A previous retrospective application to legitimise the extension was refused by the council’s Planning committee in October 2022.

The new application has been submitted by Mr and Mrs Bridges and is to accommodate five pitches for family members.

The proposal will also see a communal utility room block, timber fencing, retained installation of private treatment plant with access and ecological improvements.

Families have been living on the unauthorised extension since 2021.

Planning agents Hayston Developments and Planning LTD have lodged a number of documents in support of the application.

These show legal challenges by travellers for sites in other parts of Wales have overturned previous refusals and failed appeals.

Planning officers said in the report: “The application seeks to extend an existing Gypsy Traveller site which obtained planning permission in 2017 to facilitate additional pitches for closely related family members.

“The most recent GTAA (Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments) acknowledges that there is a need for an additional eight pitches in the borough which us unlikely to be met in the short term.

“The council is currently not meeting its obligations under the Housing Act; this must be afforded significant weight by the Planning Committee.”

But this issue in itself is not a reason to agree the proposal, as the report explains issues with the site.

The report continued: “The proposal seeks to increase the capacity of the site by over 100 per- cent which raises fundamental highway safety concerns, which cannot be satisfactorily mitigated for.

“This matter must also be given significant weight by the Planning committee.

“The personal circumstances of the occupants does not outweigh the significant highway safety concerns.

“These highway safety concerns relate not just to the general public but also the residents of the Glyn Milwr site.

“If there were satisfactory access, or a scheme for improving the existing access that met the specifications of the Highway Authority that stood a realistic prospect of implementation, then I would take a different view.

“However, the shortfall of pitches does not justify approval of poorly served sites coming forward purely on the basis of need or the personal circumstances of the occupants.”

County planners recognise that refusing the application could result in the families finding difficulty in moving to live elsewhere, but highlighted that the Housing Office in the council could help them.

The report concluded: “I therefore recommend that the application is refused on highway safety grounds.”