Barnards Farm - Proposed Gypsy Site

The following text is an extract from a Level 3 assignment for the BA Hons degree in Local Policy. The assignment was a report on working with government, and this section is a factual account of the events, which is included here for historical interest. It dates from January, 1995, so several of the policies and statute referred to have been repealed or superseded.

 

 

 

Barnards Farm

A Proposed Gypsy Site

 

Karen Plumridge, January, 1995

 

Background

 

Barnards Farm lies in open countryside, in the Metropolitan Green belt, within the triangle created by the villages of West Hanningfield, East Hanningfield and Rettendon Common. It is nearest to West Hanningfield at a distance of approximately one mile, and about 11/2 miles from both of the other villages, although it is in East Hanningfield parish.

 

The farm lies beside the A130, which is a busy major route between Chelmsford and Canvey, crossing the A12, A127 and A13. Essex County Council (ECC) plans to build a new motorway standard A130 to the West of and parallel to the present road. As a result of the plans for the new road the County Council came into the ownership of Barnards Farm following a blight notice.

 

East Hanningfield Parish Council (EHPC) became aware of the County Council’s proposal to establish a gypsy site at the farm on 25th. June, 1993 when the Chairman of the Parish Council received a telephone call from the local newspaper asking for his opinion. Being East and West Hanningfields’ borough councillor and member of Chelmsford Borough Council’s (CBC) Planning Committee, he was surprised that he had not learned about the proposal through his Planning Department connections.

 

There followed a hurried fact finding exercise, and I, being Clerk to EHPC, attended the Meeting of ECC’s Gypsy Sites Group on 1st. July. EHPC invited councillors and parishioners from the three villages and the county councillor to attend a public meeting at East Hanningfield on 8th. July. Opposition to the proposal was unanimous. The public meeting was followed by a Special Parish Council Meeting at which EHPC’s stance was debated and formulated in opposition to the proposal.

 

The County Council’s Gypsy Liaison Officer took a party of parish councillors on a tour of three gypsy sites in Essex on 2nd. September. On 6th. September ECC mounted a mobile exhibition in East Hanningfield Village Hall which was followed in the evening by a public meeting, where again opposition from parishioners and Gypsies was unanimous.

 

Origins of the Proposal

 

The Legislation

 

The Caravan Sites Act, Part II, 1968 required county councils to provide adequate accommodation, ie. Caravan sites, “for gypsies residing in or resorting to their area”. Circular 28/77 gave guidance to those councils as to how they should carry out the requirements of the Act. Once an area had achieved the provision of adequate accommodation its council could apply to the Secretary of State for designation which would give it stronger powers to deal with any caravans parked without permission. From 1978 100% funding was available from central government for the setting up of Gypsy sites.

 

In August 1992 a Government Consultation Paper proposed that the duty to provide should be withdrawn and the Draft Circular on Gypsy Sites 00/93 confirmed this and other proposals “to repeal the Secretary of State’s powers to ‘designate’ an area of a local authority…; to repeal his powers to direct an authority to provide more local authority sites; and to repeal his powers to pay grant to authorities for the provision of sites”. The favoured status given gypsy sites in the green belt was also to be withdrawn. The Government announced on 31st. March, 1993 its intention to reform the Caravan Sites Act, 1968 (1). The discretionary powers for local authorities to provide sites under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 would continue.

 

The Policies

 

In addition to its policy to fulfil the requirements of the Caravan Sites Act, 1968 (2) the ECC Gypsy Sites Group had approved two policy papers which sought “to encourage District Councils to be positive when considering planning applications from Gypsies for private sites.” (3) A policy of toleration was adopted in 1977 (4) and an amended form adopted in 1986 (5) which allowed Gypsies who had camped on ECC owned or controlled land to stay where they were if they were not causing certain specified problems.

 

Policy S9 of the County Structure Plan (6) precludes development in the Green Belt “except in very special circumstances” and does not cite gypsy sites as one of its exceptions.

 

The ECC Code of Practice states, “Local Councils will continue to be consulted and involved in arranging public meetings if a new gypsy site is proposed.” (7)

 

ECC’s criteria for choosing a location for a gypsy site are that the perfect site would:-

“be within reasonable distance of a settlement for access to local amenities such as schools and shops.

“not be in close proximity to residential properties.

“not have a major impact on the appearance of the countryside and, with new tree and shrub planting should be capable of merging with the countryside in due course.

“have, or be capable of having a convenient and safe access to the main road network.

“be one which can be made into an acceptable living environment and will be provided with access road, amenity blocks, and hardstanding and will have the services of a resident or visiting warden.

“be within an area frequented by gypsies.

“be one which is provided with, or capable of being provided with, services – water, electricity, sewerage at reasonable cost.

“be provided on land in local authority ownership or owned by a wiling seller.

 

It was EHPC’s contention that only two of the criteria applied to the Barnards Farm site (8).

 

The Motivation

 

When, during the parish councillors’ tour of the gypsy sites, he was asked where the proposal for Barnards Farm Gypsy Site had originated, the then ECC Gypsy Liaison Officer (GLO) stated that it was a Borough Council initiative and that CBC was promoting it vigorously. The Minutes of the ECC/CBC Joint Member Meeting held on 18th. January, 1993 do not name a site although it is stated that the intention was to build a 25 pitch site in the south of the Borough, which is where Barnards Farm happens to be. An officer report to the CBC Planning and Housing Committees, in January 1994, states, “Since July 1991 there have been six joint Member meetings to discuss the possibility of a site at Barnards Farm.” (9) At the Public Meeting at East Hanningfield on 8th. July, 1993, a Rettendon parish councillor stated that, earlier in the year, she had heard a rumour suggesting that Barnards Farm had been proposed as a gypsy site, but when asked CBC had denied the plan.

 

East and West Hanningfields’ Borough Councillor later confirmed that the proposal had come from the Enforcement staff at CBC’s Planning Department.

 

The Enforcement staff had been trying to clear an unauthorised gypsy encampment from a field in Meadow Lane Runwell, also in the Green Belt and the southern end of the Borough, since 1982 although the history of the encampment starts in 1965 when a planning application to lay the field out as a caravan site was refused and the subsequent appeal dismissed on 6th. December, 1982 and 11 individuals were prosecuted for failure to comply with that notice in August, 1984.

 

A planning application to use the land as 17 pitches for gypsy caravans was refused on 27th. November, 1984 and the subsequent appeal dismissed on 17th. June 1986. On 12th. December, 1986 28 individuals were prosecuted for failing to comply with the enforcement notice. Since that time the Borough council had not attempted further prosecutions because the fines imposed had been so minimal as to be no deterrent. The Courts had been reluctant to impose large fines when there was no official site in the areas for Gypsies to use (11).

 

In March, 1993 a planning application was made for the retention of the existing caravan site for twelve families. It was refused, went to appeal and was to be the subject of a local inquiry in September. At that inquiry the Borough Council’s case included the proposed site at Barnards Farm.

 

It was the opinion of Cliff Walsingham & Co., acting on behalf of Whitbread Plc., that the “undue haste” displayed by the County Council in “telescoping the entire planning process on such a controversial issue into less than three months” was “the result of a desire to obtain planning permission before the proposed new Circular comes in to effect”. Simon Burns MP confirmed that the application would be determined buy the Department of the Environment under the then existing system.

 

Reactions to the Proposed Gypsy Site

 

For the first meeting, of the Gypsy Sites Group after the County elections in May, 1993 the County Planning Offcers had produced a complete detailed plan for a 25 pitch site at Barnards Farm, which would be the largest in Essex, and had already applied to the Department of the Environment for grant.

 

The Gypsy Sites Group is a six member sub-committee of the Development Control Sub-committee of the Environment Committee. Two of the members had been members of the Group before the election and the new political balance of power was such that the Group was unable to choose a Chairman. After much delay the meeting on 1st. July was chaired by the Deputy County Planner. All the officers’ recommendations were agreed by the members.

 

Since the 1991 local elections Chelmsford Borough Council has been Conservative. At that election Chelmsford swung in the opposite direction to the rest of the country, but East and West Hanningfields’ Borough councillor is an independent. Conversely, at the 1993 county election the Conservatives were toppled. The local County Councillor is a Conservative. Thus both of the local councillors are ‘in opposition’ and thereby free to object to the actions of their councils and both did object to the Barnards Farm proposal without reserve at the public meeting organised by EHPC on 8th. July, 1993.

 

The County Council’s ‘consultation’ exercise took place on 6th. September, 1993 at East Hanningfield Village Hall. By this time Mrs. Lubel, an experienced member, had become Chairman of the Gypsy Sites Group although there had been no further meetings since the one on 1st. July. The consultation was intended to take the form of a question and answer session, with County officers and members and the Borough Director of Housing seated on a platform either side of Mrs. Lubel who chaired the meeting. As well as questions there were many statements, several of which were by people with first hand experience of official gypsy sites. Gypsies from the Meadow Lane, Runwell unauthorised site also spoke, stating that they would not live on the Barnards Farm site and that they would move out of the Borough to avoid doing so. The only statements at the meeting which were minuted were those of the local County Councillor and of East and West Hanningfields’ Borough Councillor who spoke on behalf of both those parish councils, and had ensured that he had distributed copies of his speech before he began.

 

The attitude emanating from the platform was that people were objecting because they were NIMBYs and that their comments and statements therefore held no weight. The attitude towards the Gypsies was particularly arrogant in that their unwillingness to live at Barnards Farm was of no consideration; this had happened with previous sites which were subsequently occupied.

 

The County Council representatives made two concessions at the public consultation meeting: firstly, should the Meadow lane, Runwell site public inquiry result in planning permission for the encampment to remain, the Barnards Farm proposal would be abandoned; secondly, the local parish councils’ call for this matter not to be on the Agenda at the next Gypsy Sites Group meeting scheduled for 16th. September, but to be delayed to give parish councils time to meet to form their responses, gained a two weeks delay. A Special Group Meeting was arranged, to take place on 1st. October.

 

The general impression of the Public Consultation gained by members of the public was that the arguments against the proposal were so overwhelmingly justified that the County Council could not possibly continue with it. A rumour circulated in East Hanningfield suggesting wrongly that the plan had been dropped.

 

A the Special Meeting on 1st. October the Gypsy Sites Group resolved that a planning application should be made for a 25 pitch gypsy site at Barnards Farm with the rider that should the Runwell appeal succeed the County Council would not proceed with the development.

 

The Planning Application

 

On being notified of the planning application at the beginning of December, EHPC acted quickly to gain as much support as possible, calling for the Department of the Environment to call the application in. This support included Simon Burns the local MP who is Conservative with whom EHPC had been in communication since early July and who was fully supportive of the Parish Council’s case. The local Conservative Party is known to have been involved in the lobbying as both the County Councillor and the failed Conservative borough candidate were active against the application. Residents of the parishes involved were asked by their parish councils to write to the County Planner, MP and Secretary of State.

 

In January, 1994 the Department of the Environment announced that the Secretary of State had issued a direction under Article 14 of the General Development Order directing Essex County Council not to grant planning permission for this application without his authorisation.

 

On 6th. April, 1994 the Runwell appeal was upheld. The Inspector at the Public Inquiry in September had recorded that both County and Borough Councils were considering the response to the Public Consultation concerning the Barnards Farm proposal (12) and that the Borough Council could not say whether they would support it (13). The Inspector’s favouring the appeal site in comparison to the Barnards Farm site (14) was excluded by the Secretary of State from the final appeal decision.

 

The Barnards Farm proposal was officially abandoned on 19th. May when the Gypsy Sites Group resolved to withdraw the planning application.

 

References

 

1. Department of the Environment News Release 237, 31.3.93. “Crackdown on Illegal Camping and Raves”.

 

2. Policy BE6 Essex Structure Plan, First Alteration.

 

3. Guidance Notes for Members of the Gypsy Sites Group. A basic guide to members following the May 1993 elections. ECC.

 

4. ECC Policy on unauthorised encampment on land owned or controlled by the County council. One hundred Gypsy Families in Essex: a 1987 Survey of Travelling People, Appendix B, Essex county Council Social Services.

 

5. ECC Policy on use of highway verges by Gypsies and Itinerants. As above.

 

6. Essex Structure plan, First Alteration.

 

7. ECC Code of Practice, March, 1993.

 

8. Letter from EHPOC t Essex County Planner, 10.12.93.

 

9. CBC Planning Committee Agenda Item 3, 23.1.94 & Housing Committee Agenda Item 8, 26.1.94.

 

10. Report to the Right Honourable John Gummer MP Secretary of State for the Environment from Jonathan Bore, Inspector, 22.10.93.

 

11. Letter from CBC Administration Department to Councillor Dixon, 10.8.93.

 

12. Paragraph 55, Report to John Gummer as above.

 

13. Paragraph 65, Report to John Gummer as above.

 

14. Paragraph 69, Report to John Gummer as above.