Four Houses Corner Traveller site near Ufton Nervet
Have your say.
Consultation status ArchivedActivity closed.
Background
West Berkshire Council wishes to reopen as soon as possible Four Houses Corner, a designated Traveller site near Ufton Nervet. The site itself has been a recognised Traveller site since 1982 when the first long lease was granted on the site for the purposes of providing static Traveller accommodation.
To provide new fit-for-purpose accommodation, the original site facilities were vacated and fully demolished between 2020 and 2022 and the residents housed in temporary accommodation.
Current design proposals set out in planning application No: 23/01552/REG3, including the radial design, remain the same as those presented in December 2018 to ward members and parish councils. The only significant change is that a small community block is being replaced by another individual pitch and amenity block. Designs and materials generally reflect best practice, are indicative of up-to-date static traveller sites across the country and where emergency services have had past input into current proposals.
The site in its original form had planning permission from 1981 for 21 Traveller pitches, including dayroom accommodation. Of that 21 only 18 pitches were provided. The current proposed scheme the council wishes to deliver provides 17 pitches and associated individual dayroom accommodation. The 17 pitches are designed to take either one static caravan or two tourer caravans. The dayroom accommodation consists of 30sqms of internal space and with residents' sleeping in caravan accommodation. There will be 17 legal agreements between the council and private individuals allowing them and their dependents to occupy individual pitches.
Refurbishing Four Houses Corner is a substantial part of the council's compliance with statutory duties in respect of Gypsy and Traveller site accommodation generally in the WBC district and specifically in respect of Four Houses Corner residents in temporary accommodation who maintain their existing legal agreements and right to live on site. Refurbishment of the site may also provide the council with further options to use this site in order to meet its wider housing duties, dependant on future occupation numbers.
Why we want your views
Council policy is that its own development schemes should undergo six weeks public consultation in addition to statutory consultation as required through the planning process. Proposals for Four Houses Corner are likely to be of public interest and the council wishes to bring to public notice its proposals for the site by means of a more extensive process than the statutory process and by that obtain as wide a public view of the proposals as possible. This consultation is aimed to fulfil both these.
How to take part
If you'd like to comment generally or on matters that are not material to the statutory planning process, please either email 4hc@westberks.gov.uk or write to Four Houses Corner Consultation, FAO Mr Bill Bagnell, West Berkshire Council, Market Street, Newbury, Berks RG14 5LD. All representations must be received by us by 5pm on Friday, 15 December 2023.
We held an open public presentation, including a question and answer session on:
| Date and time | Location |
|---|---|
| Monday, 11 December 2023 from 6pm to 8pm | St. John's Village Hall, West End Rd, Mortimer Common, RG7 3TF |
For general enquiries about the planning application process, please visit our dedicated webpage.
What happens next
All the comments we receive will be summarised and reported to elected members at the Eastern Area Planning Committee meeting aimed for Wednesday, 6 March 2024. Your feedback will be used to inform members' decision as to whether the current design proposals are fit for purpose to reopen Four Houses Corner and, if proposals achieve a planning consent, will shape management proposals on how to operate the site.
What you told us
Overall, people felt the site should not re-open and the former community of Four Houses Corner be re-homed in another area. Concerns centred around the council’s ability to manage the site, the tenancy terms of residents and the acceptability of re-opening the site considering historic events.
The main message was:
If the site re-opens, proper management proposals must be in place (including regular site visits by capable and qualified persons), appropriate occupational tenancies must be in place, tenancy terms are enforceable, and the site is not allowed to deteriorate as it did before, both in terms of condition and access.
What we did
It is acknowledged that the council did not previously, nor does it now, have the ability to manage the site. This will be covered initially by having an outside management agency specialising in traveller sites to manage the site. Once residents have settled in and new relations established, this management may in the future be replaced by council officer support, if qualified personnel are in post. The public consultation has impressed upon council officers the need to ensure that the procurement process required to secure external management of the site must include a clear and detailed scope of service, to ensure all aspects of the required management, and skill sets to deliver that management, are in place when an appointment is made.
A detailed summary of the consultation responses is attached to the Case Officer’s report in respect of the planning application being considered at Eastern Area Planning Committee on Wednesday, 6 March 2024.
Update following EAPC: plans to redevelop a traveller site in Ufton Nervet to provide modern, fit-for-purpose facilities, have been approved at Eastern Area Planning Committee (EAPC) on 6 March. Final permission for the Four Houses Corner site is not in place until it is confirmed that the Secretary of State (SoS) will not call-in the proposals. Referral to the Secretary of State for potential call-in has been made by private request.
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