Outstanding gypsy and travellers sites appeal decisions - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

We have an Enforcement appeal regarding a single family gypsy site that had an Informal Hearing 2.5 months ago and we are awaiting a decision. (In contrast a neighbouring plot had Enforcement and Planning appeals dismissed within a few weeks of a Public Inquiry.) On another site also an Enforcement appeal by Informal Hearing for storage of fairground lorries (no residential accommodation just the trucks) we had the hearing more than 3.5 months ago, no sign of progress. Very frustrated local communities. Jon - you are not alone!

Good to know others out there are experiencing similar issues with Gypsy and Traveller appeal decisions. Our inquiry was in June and we were informed that a decision was to be made by the Secretary of State in September. We are still waiting 7 months after the hearing and near to two years since the application was first submitted. Calls have been made to DCLG every two weeks to see what the issue is and we are none the wiser. Suzanne

We had an traveller Inquiry which started in February 2012, resumed in May and finally finished in September and we are still waiting for a decision despite being told by the Inspector that it would be with us early November as he was conscious of the drawn out process. We are still waiting. Numerous phone calls and cagey responses but no decision. We have another application on a different site which had not been decided as we were waiting for this decision as the arguments were the same and was it worth rehearsing them again. Now being taken for non determination. The saga goes on and on.

We had a hearing at the end of November 2012 and are still awaiting a decision, so it has not been as long as the other cases cited. The adjacent site has an effective enforcment notice for the same use, but we are awaiting the outcome of the planning and enforcement appeals to decide what action to take. The PINS case officer advised that if one has concerns about the delay to put in a formal complaint.

I think we'll know more after 23 March.

Oops! Forgot to update my profile and can't find option on LGA website to change employer - it's Hambleton DC.

Whats happening on the 23rd?

First of all, apologies if this says I am at Reigate & Banstead. I am not, I'm at Hambleton and I'll try updating my LGA profile again. So what happens on the 23rd March? The Government's "Planning Policy for Traveller Sites" becomes one year old, like the NPPF. So the requirement for LPAs to demonstrate an up-to-date five-year supply of deliverable sites for the settled and traveller communities comes into effect (see paragraphs 25 & 28 and footnote 12 of the traveller policy). I may be paranoid too, but PINS now has a batch of gypsy and traveller appeal cases that could be determined and released shortly after that date. If so I expect a good proportion could grant temporary permission. This would emphasise the Government's expectation that LPAs without a five-year supply should consider applications for temporary permission favourably. There was a similar hint in the consultation on extending the power to serve Temporary Stop Notices to residential caravans. The message to LPAs would be clear: if you want to be able exercise control over unauthorised gypsy and traveller encampments, get serious about planning for their needs.

I am not sure that the upcoming first anniversary of PPTS would be the reason for the delay in the Gypsy & Traveller Appeal Decisions. The High Court Case, 10/12/2012 (Linfoot V The Secretary of State for DCLG and Chorley Borough Council), where a Green Belt refusal, upheld on Appeal, was overturned by the High Court and a Temporary Permission Granted using the exists Regs regarding Temp Permissions, suggests that there would an authority in existance for dealing with the existing Appeals without further delay. The gist of this landmark decisions is that if councils do not have a 5 year land supply and cannot demonstrate that they have complied with their duty to cooperate they should be granting temporary planning permission, even if they were claiming that they had no need for G & T sites.

Sorry - I too need to update my profile. I am no longer a councillor but in addition to being, formerly, the Chairman of the Gypsy & Traveller Task Group, I was one of the two Founding Peers of the Gypsy & Travellers Awareness Training Course which is funded by CLG and administered by PAS. We have now run over 50 of these courses to help councils as they grapple with the demands of the Housing Act 2004 and Planning Policy for Traveller Sites 2012.

As an update Corby Borough Council have recently (yesterday) received our appeal decision on the gypsy site - within a week of a letter being sent from our MP to the head of the Inspectorate. Has anyone else had decisions back yet or did the MP's letter make all the difference?

Out of curiousity what was the outcome?

We are still awaiting our decisions. To the best of my knowledge the MP's involved haven't written seeking a response from PINS.

The appeal was allowed for a permanent personal permission. I have added the link to the appeal below which hopefully should work http://www.pcs.planningportal.gov.uk/pcsportal/ViewCase.asp?caseid=2162384&coid=27840

Thought i'd bring this back to the top Has anybody received any decisions since the last post?

We (Hambleton - I suspect PAS web data has still not updated) have received 3 decisions lately, all dismissed. One was for a second plot on a larger site where we had won an appeal on an adjacent plot in November, and this was the one I had been told the MP was being asked to chase. As a side issue, the inspectors on the two adjacent plots took quite different views on need and landscape impact. In fact the only point they only agreed on was that the access was hazardous. Had it not been for that we would have had the crazy situation of appeals allowed and dismissed within 4 months of each other and complete confusion on what to do about the other 10 plots there.