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Search the Public Notice PortalA group of travellers hoping to make a Norfolk plot their permanent home have had their plans thrown out.
Breckland Council has refused a bid to turn Otterwood Kennels, on Dereham Road near Saham Toney, into a permanent site for 12 traveller families.
Lisa Jay, who has lived on the land for more than 15 years, applied for permission after the council took enforcement action in 2025 when 23 caravans were moved onto the plot.
Officers had recommended refusal, warning the scheme would be a “harmful and urbanising form of development” in open countryside.
But the recommendation came despite council documents showing Breckland is short of between 66 and 71 traveller pitches by 2046.
Speaking for the applicant, a representative urged councillors to “give weight to the positive aspects of these proposals”, pressing the need for secure homes with winter approaching.
“The transient lifestyle in summer may be tolerable with sunshine and light nights but for these families, especially with young children, the onset of winter is a far bleaker prospect,” she said.
However Paul Hewett, the Breckland cabinet member for property, stressed that the scheme was a non-starter.
“It’s rare that an application so inappropriate in its location and so clearly misguided in its ambition make it to this stage of the planning process, but here we are,” he said.
“The fact that Norfolk is short of gypsy and traveller sites does not of necessity mean that any application should be approved at any cost to the environment or the detriment of those living in rural areas.”
The refusal - which was voted down by nine to two by the planning committee - came five months after councillors first delayed a decision on the proposal.
In May, they had asked for further clarification on how safe access could be achieved without ripping out the roadside hedgerow.
However this updated report concluded that the application should still be turned down.
Officers also said that the site, around 3km from Shipdham and 4km from Watton, had no footpath or lighting, and would leave the travellers reliant on cars.
Ovington Parish Council, which objected to the plans, described the stretch of the A1075 near the sites as one of the most dangerous roads in the area, with multiple fatal crashes in recent years.
Saham Toney Parish Council also opposed the plans.
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