'Misguided' plan for travellers site rejected

A group of travellers hoping to make a plot of land their permanent home have had their plans thrown out, with one councillor describing the idea as "clearly misguided".

Breckland District Council refused a bid to turn the site at Saham Toney, near Watton in Norfolk, into a place for 12 traveller families.

Lisa-Jane Jay, who has lived on the land for more than 15 years, applied for permission after the council took enforcement action in 2025 when 23 caravans were moved onto the plot.

Council officers had recommended refusal, warning the scheme would be a "harmful and urbanising form of development" in open countryside.

The recommendation came despite council documents showing Breckland needs between 66 and 71 more traveller pitches by 2046.

At a meeting on Tuesday, Jay's agent urged councillors to "give weight to the positive aspects of these proposals", pressing the need for secure homes with winter approaching.

"The transient lifestyle in summer may be tolerable with sunshine and light nights but for these families, especially with young children, the onset of winter is a far bleaker prospect," Angela Simmonds said.

However, Conservative Paul Hewett, the Breckland cabinet member for property, stressed the scheme was a non-starter.

"It's rare that an application so inappropriate in its location and so clearly misguided in its ambition make it to this stage of the planning process," he said.

"The fact that Norfolk is short of gypsy and traveller sites does not of necessity mean that any application should be approved at any cost to the environment."

The refusal by the planning committee came five months after councillors first delayed a decision on the proposal.

An updated report concluded that the application should still be turned down.

Ovington Parish Council, which objected to the plans, described the stretch of the A1075 near the site as one of the most dangerous roads in the area, with multiple fatal crashes in recent years.

Saham Toney Parish Council also opposed the plans.

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