By Tom Leaning
A caravan park owner in Gloucestershire is celebrating victory this Christmas after years of fighting against the threat of closure by the local council.
The fate of Beech Hill Farm in Westerleigh, which accommodates about 50 caravans belonging to residents of the nearby area, looked in doubt after an application to officially convert the use of land to caravan storage was denied by South Gloucestershire Council, according to the Gloucestershire Gazette.
Despite the land being originally designated for agricultural use, owner Deborah Martin was forced to look for alternatives for income after she discovered the land was a former landfill site and was unable to grow or farm anything on the site.
The caravan site was set up in 2003 and proved a popular service for residents in the Chipping Sodbury area, until an enforcement order to remove the caravans was made in 2007.
Nothing followed until 2014 when the enforcement officers visited the site, leaving Deborah with the decision of whether to close down or fight for the change of use.
But having applied in March last year, the proposal was denied due to being in the green belt.
When at capacity, the one acre site houses around 100 caravans, but the site has only been about half full for the past two years after concerns over the future of the site resulted in a number of the caravan owners leaving.
Deborah said that those who have remained joined the campaign, giving her the strength to fight on.
Ms Martin told the Gloucestershire Gazette: “It has been the support not just from those storing their caravans, but the community as a whole that has really kept me going. They have all been brilliant.”
Having filed an appeal against the decision, the case was heard at a hearing on 23 November, with dozens of patrons of the site turning out to show their support.
“Twice as many people turned out for the appeal hearing as the council’s planning inspector had prepared for,” said Deborah. “She said she had never seen anything like it before.”
The decision to uphold the appeal was announced on Thursday, 15 December, just in time for Christmas.
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: “The planning inspector acknowledged that the proposal would be inappropriate development in the green belt which is harmful by definition.
“However she went on to say that for this particular application a number of very special circumstances exist which justify the development.”
Deborah said: “I am so glad I kept fighting, and overjoyed for all the people who have a caravan on our site.
“Many are elderly or disabled and are not able to holiday abroad, but there are also a lot with young families, who enjoy being able to get away for a weekend together.
“I couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present for everyone, especially as some were panicking that they might have to sell up.”
