RESIDENTS in Alderbury and Clarendon are celebrating after plans for a Gypsy site near their homes were dismissed by a planning inspector.

Local people have been fighting plans by David Cooper and his family to turn land at Hillbilly Acre on Southampton Road into a four pitch Gypsy site with eight mobile homes since April last year.

Mr Cooper’s family has owned the land for about 40 years and he is already living on-site with his wife and daughter. They wanted permission for more family members to move onto the site but residents and Wiltshire Council opposed the plan.

Now a planning inspector has agreed with them and dismissed the Coopers’ appeal following a lengthy planning inquiry.

Inspector Richard Clegg said although there is a general need for Gypsy sites in south Wiltshire, this site would damage the character and appearance of the area and pose a serious threat to highway safety due to problems with access.

At the inquiry, the Alderbury and Clarendon Residents Group (ACRG) raised concerns about the effect the proposed Gypsy site would have on two neighbouring listed buildings.

Mr Clegg said the plans would give the upper part of the site a more developed appearance that would detract from the open setting of the listed buildings.

He said it would cause substantial harm to the setting of St Marie’s Grange, a Grade I listed building which was the first house to be built by Victorian architect AWN Pugin, because of its proximity to the site.

He said Grade II listed Belmont House was less sensitive but the site would still cause significant harm to its setting and overall the Gypsy site would cause significant damage to the character and appearance of the area.

Residents were also seriously concerned about the safety of vehicles moving into and off the site onto the busy Southampton Road. The inspector concluded that visibility was seriously restricted to the north west. He also found that it would be difficult for vehicles towing caravans to pass each other on the internal drive at the site.

Both the council and the residents group were also awarded partial costs because the planning inquiry was adjourned.