A family of Show People say they have no choice but to continue living on green belt land as they cannot find space on the county’s “overcrowded” Traveller sites.
John Bailey applied to change the use of land on the corner of Clement Street and Church Road in Sutton-at-Hone to create permanent quarters for his family to pitch on.
It accommodates approximately 25 adults and 12 children on a green space near the M25, which they have owned for three years and used for paddocks.
In an application, submitted to Dartford council in November, the 64-year-old proposed creating seven permanent plots for travelling Show People with storage, washing and testing areas for equipment, access and landscaping.
However, the plans were thrown out at the planning committee on March 14 as officers said it was an “inappropriate development” of the metropolitan green belt.
Speaking to KentOnline following the decision, Mr Bailey said: “We are not building blocks of flats, we just want to park up, live quietly and fit in with people.
“We have got to do whatever it takes as we need somewhere to live. We are a family and we do not want to break the rules.
“We cannot park up on the side of the road, we need land for our equipment. We are just parking our homes.
“We understand the land is in the green belt but there have been cases where it has been overturned for other communities. Show People do not have the same rights.”
Show People are not considered an ethnic group as they do not descend from Romany, Roma and Irish Travellers and are instead known as cultural Travellers.
According to the Traveller Movement (TM), which aims to tackle discrimination and promote equality, they are a cultural minority and their identity is connected to their family businesses.
Show People, or Showmen, own, operate and organise fairs, circuses and shows in the summer and have winter quarters where they settle to prepare for the next travelling season.
The Bailey family have run funfairs in Kent for around 100 years and unlike other travelling groups they need a much bigger space to store their equipment such as funfair rides and kiosks.
However, John – who was born and grew up in Dartford – said there is nowhere on the county’s existing Traveller sites that can accommodate them, hence the planning application.
In their report, council officers claimed the local authority has “an adequate supply of plots” and did not consider there to be “an unmet need [of sites] for travelling Show People within Dartford”.
The submitted design and access statement said the family were recently living on a site in South Ockendon but it was “severely overcrowded” and “cramped” so they moved onto their land in Sutton-at-Hone in March last year to improve their living conditions.
Council officers said this was a breach of planning control and an injunction order was served preventing any further development from happening.
The local authority then served an enforcement notice, which came into effect in December, on the owners requiring the caravans and fairground equipment to be removed within nine months.
However, Mr Bailey and his family have appealed this notice and an inquiry is due to take place in May.
He added: “We had to do this. It might not have been the correct thing to do but we needed somewhere to live.
“We will go anywhere but there are no sites for us and the ones there are, are all overcrowded. If there were more sites it would be ideal.”
The submitted design and access statement states the applicant accepts the use change would be “an inappropriate form of development in the green belt”, however, would not result in any “other harm”, such as noise, traffic, or light.
It also stated the application could be considered as having “very special circumstances” such as the unmet need of the group and lack of alternative land so could be regarded for approval despite being on the green belt.
The statement added: “It is very difficult to find sites suitable and available for Gypsies, Travellers and travelling Show People outside the green belt in Dartford as evident by the fact that all Traveller and travelling Show People’s sites within the borough are located in the green belt.
“If the council considers there to be justification for the allocation of sites in the green belt for Travellers, the same should quite clearly be the case for travelling Showmen.”
In their report, council officers did not think the application met the requirements to be a “very special circumstance” and recommended it for refusal.
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Six objections from neighbouring residents were received to the planning application raising concerns over increased traffic, use of the green belt, and noise pollution.
There were also 14 letters of support submitted stating the family “do good work for the community”, is a “positive addition” to the area and is charitable with members once being part of Dartford Lions.
They are due to appeal the councillors’ decision to refuse planning permission.
