Plans for a traveler site on Shropshire green belt have been rejected despite community support

Shropshire Council’s Southern Planning Committee agreed to approve temporary planning permission for a private tourism site at Tongue Forge in Shifnal in April last year.

The ruling allowed the Quinn family, who have been at the site since late 2021, to stay for an additional 12 months.

It was said at the time that the decision would allow more time for other potential sites to be explored and for the council’s Local Plan to be implemented.

It was hoped the new local plan would bring more clarity to proposed planning policies for Gypsy and Traveler sites, but government inspectors have since suspended the plan after raising “serious concerns”.

The original application, which followed a previous proposal which was rejected last year, said the family’s personal circumstances – namely the children’s education and the health needs of other family members – met the “very special circumstances” required for any green belt development.

At the time, letters of support were received from local businesses, friends, sports clubs, Shifnal Primary School, the parish church and even the local postman.

The latest bid to make the changes permanent received similar support, with 13 local residents backing the plans.

Most of the supportive comments praised the Quinn family as “valued members of the Shifnal community”.

“They are a good respected family and deserve a permanent home for their family and children’s education,” Mr Aaron Davis wrote.

Five objections were also raised to the application, including from Tong Parish Council.

The parish council expressed concern that the development had already “caused significant harm” to the green belt and raised concerns about the validity of claims contained in the submitted Environmental Report.

The plans now look set to be rejected at a meeting of the southern planning committee on Tuesday night.

The report, which will be presented to the committee, recommends councilors reject the “inappropriate development”.

It said: “In this case, there are alternative sites that are accessible and located outside the green belt. Therefore, the argument about the need to develop the green belt and “very special circumstances” does not stand up to criticism. “

If council members reject the plan, the family will be required to remove the paved area built on the property.

The report also recommends issuing an enforcement notice requiring the site to be vacated and returned to its original condition within a specified period of six months.