Plans submitted for permanent travellers site in Brighton

Plans have been submitted for a permanent travellers site next to the recently reopened transit site on the norther edge of Brighton.

The planning application has been submitted to the South Downs National Park Authority by Brighton and Hove City Council.

Once the plans for the Horsdean site, next to the A27 Brighton bypass, have been checked and advertised, the national park will carry out a full public consultation before making a decision.

The council said: “Horsdean was chosen following an extensive selection process which explored 50 possible locations.

“The proposal is to create a permanent traveller site by extending the existing transit site on the former Horsdean Recreation Ground, which was cut off with the building of the A27.

“The plans show 12 new permanent pitches alongside 21 retained transit pitches.

“Each permanent pitch will consist of space for a static caravan and other vehicles, plus a kitchen, bathroom and dayroom in an amenity block.

“The proposals will also see the Traveller Liaison Team move to a management building on site, to ensure closer and better working with the community and to reduce management costs.”

Councillor Pete West, the chairman of council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, said: “We have worked with landscape advisers who are specialists in the national park to prepare a scheme that not only minimises the visual appearance of the new site through using the location at the bottom of the valley and by screening with new planting.

“It also reduces the visual impact of the existing transit site, so offering benefits to the national park setting.“

The site will be aimed at travellers with a local link, many of whom already regularly occupy spaces at the transit site.

The council said that this should increase the council’s capacity to deal with unauthorised encampments although the permanent traveller site will not provide a complete solution.

Tenants will have to sign a lease that will, like all social housing, ensure that any anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated, the council said.

It added: “All residents will pay rent and be responsible for bills and council tax like all other council tenants.”

Councillor West said: “As a section of society, travellers suffer some of the worst levels of inequality.

“The addition of a permanent traveller site at Horsdean will give greater stability for travelling families and strengthen existing links with the local community that already exist with the transit site.

“By adding pitch capacity it will also reduce the likelihood of unauthorised encampments.”

The council said that it had identified a need for 14 to 16 permanent traveller pitches in the period up to 2016.

It added that it had to show that it was properly planning and working to meet that demand. If not, the council said, the City Plan would be at risk of being considered unsound when it was examined in public next month.

The transit site provides short-term pitches for travellers to stop for up to three months while they are visiting the area for work, family matters or a holiday.

Although Horsdean is a transit site, some pitches are currently occupied by traveller households who are in need of permanent pitches.

The provision of a permanent site in Brighton and Hove would free up the blocked transit pitches for those visiting the city, the council said.

It added: “Horsdean is in a sensitive location for ground water and the council has given very detailed consideration to how to handle waste water from the pitches.

“Professional advisers at Hemsley Orrell Partnership have prepared a detailed plan and have consulted with the Environment Agency.

“The proposal is that both the permanent and transit traveller sites will be linked up to the mains sewer.

“This will involve directional drilling under the A27 to join with the mains sewer in Vale Avenue.

“This option represents a substantial cost saving compared to other options when ongoing costs are considered while also ensuring no foul water enters the water course.

“Road run-off will be comprehensively treated to ensure all oil is removed.”

The national park authority decides all planning applications in the national park area.

The authority will first check that it has all the information that it needs to make the decision before it advertises the application and asks for comments.

This usually takes about two weeks and once the consultation period is open the council will help to publicise the application online and through displays at local libraries.

It said: “This additional publicity will tell people how and where to submit their comments.”