Traveller site plan for Northamptonshire field after owner's earlier pledge it would be used as paddock

The owner of a field near Warmington says he wants his family to settle there after years of ‘precarious’ and ‘vulnerable’ living.

But locals say they feel miseld as they had been told the field would be used as a paddock. A number of material planning objections have already been raised.

The site off the A605 close to an Esso filling station and the Warmington roundabout was bought by traveller John Buckley, who began work to fence it off earlier this year.

Villagers previously raised concerns that the site would eventually be home to caravans, and said that they had serious worries about access onto the incredibly busy A-road.

Mr Buckley told this newspaper in March that he only intended to split the land into two paddocks.

But now, a planning application has been submitted to convert the field into a permanent traveller site. North Northamptonshire currently has a significant shortfall of 93 new traveller sites over the next five years.

The front of the site will be used as paddocks for the family horses and the rear, furthest away from the road, will house two pitches containing one static caravan and two tourer caravans on each. It’s intended both pitches will have their own day room for washing and day-to-day living.

The application has been submitted by Mark Simmonds Planning Services on behalf of Mr Buckley.

Planning documents state: “The site sits at a considerable distance away from any residential neighbours which results in no negative impacts on anyone’s amenity and no capacity for overlooking.

"Often the difficulty with these sites is the backlash which is felt when trying to apply near the settled community. However in this instance this site is considered to strike the perfect balance of being sustainable which will allow for some integration in the community without being overly close to dwellings.

“The area of hardstanding proposed for the roadway and base for the chalet’s is incredibly modest and a large amount of greenspace is retained for the amenity of the families and their children. This is very much a family site, so that the family can finally settle on a pitch after years of a precarious and vulnerable way of life including being homeless and living on the road.”

Local residents have already raised objections around the lack of sewage and electricity connections at the site, as well as ‘high risk’ vehicular and pedestrian access to the site.

One objector who has submitted comments on NNC’s planning portal says: “Walking from the site entrance onto the busy A605 would be dangerous at any time due to volume of traffic and lack of pavement. The use of pushchairs, wheelchairs or mobility scooters would be impossible. Accessing the facilities at the Warmington MFG services would involve a hazardous walk.”

Another local says: “Where is all the waste produced from this development going to go? There are not any sewers on this land, or water supply. There is also no electricity on this land.

"The A605 is an extremely busy section of road. This is only going to get busier with the proposed lorry park behind the petrol station and also the expansion of the lorry park at the large services just a couple of miles down the road at the A1 / A605 junction. “There have been many accidents on this road in the past. “This development should not go ahead for all the above reasons but I do believe the highway matters are the most serious and present a risk to human life.”

The council’s own waste management department has voiced worries over access for its vehicles. It’s comment says: “From a waste management perspective, the proposed development is not acceptable without a safe area for collection vehicles to pull off and rejoin the A605 safely.”

You can view the application, and respond to it, here. The application number is 26/02308/FUL.

Mr Buckley did not respond to a request for comment from the Northants Telegraph.