VILLAGERS say they will have to get used to living near a contentious caravan site  that will now officially be for Gypsies and Travellers.

The owners of Carousel Park off Basingstoke Road, Micheldever, have won an appeal against enforcement action from Winchester City Council. 

The use of the site has been a bone of contention for 20 years. A recent decision from the planning inspectorate has designated the site as a Gypsy and Traveller site instead of its original use as winter quarters for Travelling Showpeople. 

Micheldever Parish Assembly recently heard villagers' concerns about the current use of the site. 

Reacting to the appeal decision, which was published on April 8, local resident Charlie Goodall said: “I think the whole thing stinks. The police have been left to pick up the pieces. All we can do is report any problems to the police. The Police and Crime Commissioner promised to put CCTV in at the site, but that hasn't happened. 

“Black Wood is a site of importance. It's important that people contact the police if there are any issues. It's a problem we have to live with now.”

Basingstoke Gazette: Carousel Park

The appellants for the appeal are listed as: Freddie Loveridge, Anthony O'Donnell, Patrick Flynn, Hughie Stokes, Danny Carter, Patrick Stokes and Oliver Crumlish. 

As a result of the appeal, the site can now have no more than 24 pitches, including a maximum of 89 caravans. 

Inspector R Merrett's decision report said that the site was originally granted permission as a site for nine pitches for Travelling Showpeople in 2003. 

The inspector added that the need for Gypsy and Traveller pitches outweighs that of Travelling Showpeople. The report said: “I acknowledge there is a significant need for Travelling Showpeople’s site provision within the district.

“However, it seems to me that the council’s undisputed sizable and immediate unmet and growing need for Gypsy and Traveller pitches, as manifested in the lack of available alternative sites and the lack of a five-year land supply, is so acute and pressing that it surpasses in importance the needs of the former.”

Speaking at the parish assembly on April 17, Cllr Jackie Porter said: “The inspector decided that the site would be regularised rather than closed or changed. At all times Winchester has taken enforcement action at the site very closely. We have been having meetings about this on a regular basis. 

“The important thing is that there is a very clear set of conditions. I think the conditions are rigorous. We want to work with the people at the site. It's about regular inspections.”

Winchester City Council has been contacted for a comment by the Gazette's sister paper the Hampshire Chronicle.