Appeal By Gypsy Travelers To Build A Permanent Site Next To Our Village

[eastern]

Some fields came up for sale on the outskirts of the village where my family live in the Darlington area. The fields have been used to keep horses and other animals in over the years but then were sold to "persons unknown". It later transpires that they had been sold to some members of the Gypsy community and they then applied for planning consent to construct a permanent residential caravan site with two amenity buildings and hard standing for a number of caravans. This has obviously been met with considerable out rage by the nearby village who got together to raise several thousand pounds and wrote in excess of 200 letters of complaint, the most the council had ever received against a planning application. Their application was unanimously rejected by the council much to the delight of the nearby residents. Now as you may gather they, the Gypsy's have appealed, every body has resigned themselves to the fact that the appeal will more than likely succeed. According to what the council have said they do not have the funds to fight this application and the Gypsy's have employed a top barrister to fight their case. I know this seems a lost cause but has anybody got any useful input on this situation. Thanks in advance.

[jomifl]

I lived for about 10 years on a legal council caravan site that had a high proportion of New forest 'gypsies' as residents. you couldn't wish to meet a more dishonest, thieving, idle bunch of ne're do wells. Anything that wasn't bolted down was stolen. Whenever I see a blue pickup truck with 3 guys in the front I check my wallet and house keys:-)