Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Planning permission has been granted for the caravan site,
"West Wiltshire District Council’s planning committee granted retrospective change of use permission for a private caravan site on land adjacent to West Wiltshire Crematorium in Semington, at their meeting of 31 July.

Consent was granted for a period of three years, with several conditions attached. The site must be properly landscaped, any outstanding repair work carried out and maintained for the duration of the consent period. The committee’s decision was agreed by a clear majority.

The application has gone through the correct official channels and all parties involved have had their views considered, following which the committee considered that the proposed development would meet the short term unmet needs of the occupants of the site according to the Regional Spatial Strategy, Development Plan Document and Local Development Framework. The planning conditions will mitigate any objections on planning grounds.

There were no suitable alternative sites available in West Wiltshire. As the land is owned by a travelling family, trespass is not an issue in this instance. The permission has only been granted to the applicant and his family.

Now that there is a planning application in place the Council will follow up the conditions so that the situation can be assessed on a more permanent basis in the future. The site will be significantly improved under the terms of the permission."

As a matter of record a) Semington's district councillor (Virginia Fortescue) supported the granting of temporary permission for the site and b) not long ago permission was refused for a garden of remembrance on this site!