A LARGE crowd gathered at the Millennium Centre for the enforcement appeal hearing concerning gypsies living on land east of Devil’s Lane, which was adjourned until May.

Government inspector Tim Belcher notified the meeting that 76 letters of objections had been received for the appeal and stressed statements of common ground and evidence of gypsy status was an outstanding requisite to be received before the new hearing date on May 10.

Felix Connors, who attended the appeal at Liphook’s Millennium Centre, was represented by his lawyer Mr Masters, who fought to have the hearing adjourned, while Simon Wood of Urban Vision, a consultant for EHDC, campaigned for the hearing to take place.

The meeting was not without drama, when after an hour of discussions, a 91-year-old woman collapsed in the centre’s foyer, in Canada Way, and an ambulance had to be called to deal with injuries to her head.

The hearing had to be adjourned for 30 minutes, but was concluded by mid-day. The enforcement notice issued by EHDC last year alleged that a breach of planning control occurred when the siting of caravans for residential purposes occurred without planning permission.

An application for change of use of land, previously used for grazing, to a residential caravan site for six gypsy families, each with two caravans, was made at the beginning of last year.

The applicant, Mr Connors, also proposed to erect six amenity buildings as well as the construction of an access road.

The encroachment began early last February when two caravans, generators, two diggers and a truck appeared on the land.

EHDC were notified and issued a temporary stop notice to halt further development for 28 days, taking the occupiers’ human rights into account.

The district council then obtained an injunction last March, in the High Court, prohibiting any further breaches of planning control on the land.

This was served on the occupiers and in addition, EHDC served an enforcement notice, seeking to stop all of the unauthorised occupation of the land and the removal of all caravans and associated development within 12 months, a period necessary to allow the occupants to find an alternative location.

The notice further pointed out the available length of frontage to Devil’s Lane was insufficient to enable a satisfactory road junction, resulting in adequate visibility splays, to the detriment of highway safety and danger and inconvenience of highway users.

Mr Connors appealed against the notice on grounds that planning permission should be granted for what is alleged in the enforcement notice, or that the condition which is alleged not to have been complied with should be discharged and that the time given to comply with the notice was too short.