Shurlock Row Gypsy site recommended for refusal

Resubmitted plans for a Gypsy site in Berkshire have been recommended for refusal by a parish council.

Two planning applications have now been submitted for the Shurlock Row site for a total of 17 free-standing or static caravans.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead rejected an application in 2010 and 10 families living there were given until 13 February this year to leave.

The latest plans are open to public consultation until the end of January.

About 100 people attended a public meeting held by Waltham St Lawrence Parish Council on Tuesday.

The original application for the site, which was also subject to a four-day public inquiry headed by the Planning Inspectorate, was rejected on the grounds that the land, which is owned by the Gypsy families, is green belt and prone to flooding.

Clive Scott-Hopkins, chair of the parish council, said: "Nothing has changed since the last application was made and the local residents are opposed to the site."

A spokesperson for the Gypsy Council, which has submitted one of the applications on behalf of seven families on the site, said there was a lack of provision for Gypsy and traveller families in the area.

"These are very special circumstances - the children living on the site need to have an education and they attend local schools," he said.

"They also have long-standing connections to the area."

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will make a decision about the applications, which were submitted in December of behalf of eight of the families living on the site, following the public consultation.