A GYPSY family have won their battle to continue living at a site in Hawkley for three years – following a successful appeal lodged to a planning inspector. The Burrows family, who reside in four caravans at Half Acre, Hawkley Road, have lived at the site since December 2005, after buying the land. Numbering four adults and five children, the Burrows moved in without planning permission, with East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) refusing an application for retrospective consent in February 2006. EHDC also served an enforcement notice in March 2006, dictating that the site be vacated. After lodging an appeal, Michael Burrows and his brother, Alan, cited the need for a settled home for the five children on site, one of whom is an 11 year-old girl with a serious health problem who requires regular medical attention. After holding an enquiry into the appeal, planning inspector Paul Morris spoke of a balancing act between the need of the family and for gypsy sites within the area, matched with the potential environmental damage to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) that could be caused by a more permanent settlement, and concerns raised by traffic. Deciding upon an interim strategy, Mr Morris spoke of his decision to allow a stop-gap solution – to permit the Burrows to reside at the site for three years before a long-term solution is finalised. This timespan, he argued, would allow a gypsy and traveller accommodation assessment for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to be formalised. He also raised concerns about the health of the Burrows' daughter, and the upheaval associated with moving from the site. "The site would provide a settled base to sustain the health of Miss Burrows and the continuing education of the other children," he explained. And Mr Morris lamented the lack of other potential traveller sites in the vicinity. "As things stand, there seems to be no alternative site to which the appellant can go. "It seems to me that, if forced to leave the site in the immediate future, the appellant family would be living on the road. "A temporary planning permission would give the appellant a settled site for a period of time and it would also ensure that the appellant's accommodation needs are taken into account in the gypsy and traveller accommodation assessment," he added.
