A traveller site in southern Wiltshire will be extended from one to 11 pitches after a planning application was approved by Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee.

The pitches will be located just to the south of Mere, at The Stables, on Mapperton Hill, and are due to be used by the landowner, Mr Doe, and his extended family.

At the committee meeting on Wednesday, July 10, Mr Doe’s agent, Simon Ruston, suggested that the committee had been the target of “bullying” and “threats” from objectors.

The layout proposed for the pitches.The layout proposed for the pitches. (Image: Ruxton Surveys)

Mr Ruston said: “The planning committee should not regard the threat of judicial reviews as being material to your consideration.”

He added: “A committee should not be the subject of bullying or threatening letters from anyone.”

The agent concluded: “This application represents a golden opportunity to meet a significant proportion of your increased need for pitches at no expense to anyone other than the applicant.”

More than 130 objections were received for the extension plans, with concerns that included the scale of the proposed development and the potential for additional pressure on local services.

One of the main issues that was debated by the councillors was highway safety.

John Jordan, the chair of Mere Town Council, said: “When it first – a long time ago – arose that there was going to be a single pitch, there was quite a consternation in the town.

“Some of that, sadly, is because there are people who don’t like travellers, but some of that, was because of concerns about the road.

“The road is an issue.”

He went on to describe it as “very busy” and “dangerous”.

He also expressed concerns over the density of ten further pitches, considering an application for four pitches has recently been approved at Jane Oaks Farm.

Referring to the risk for potential children from the site, Cllr Bridget Wayman said: “You cannot walk along that road, there is no proper footpath, and traffic does go whistling past there at a rate of knots.”

However, the case officer for the application reminded councillors that an “experienced highways officer” had assessed the location and had no objections.

It was maintained that the extension “will not have an adverse impact” on the landscape of the locality, nor on highways safety.

The strategic planning committee voted to approve the officer’s recommendation and accept the application.