Bid for more caravan pitches near Pulborough rejected

The proposals, rejected by Horsham District Council on June 6, related to land west of Parsons Field Stables, in Pickhurst Lane, Pulborough.

The application sought permission for the use of land for two static caravans for residential purposes, the construction of associated day rooms and stable blocks, and additional landscape works.

It also included the installation of perimeter fencing, hard standing within the site, and entrance gates.

This site, accessed from Pickhurst Lane, is next to an existing Gypsy and Traveller site and was previously open paddock land with grass cover, bounded by hedgerows and trees.

The site in question, with the entrance to Parsons Field Stables on the left (Image: Google) However, as the application was retrospective, the site now has extensive hard standing.

The area has a history of planning regulation discrepancies.

Seven planning enforcement investigations had been conducted into 'Parsons Field Stables' since 2009, though ownership of the site has changed a number of times in that period.

Read next: Replica of the first ship to circumnavigate the globe docking in Sussex this month

The application was met with 25 objections.

One objector said: "The persistent disregard for planning laws poses a threat to the rural character of our district and undermines public confidence in the planning system."

Another wrote: "Neighbours, local residents, and visitors to the area have watched in horror and disbelief as this development has occurred."

Another objected to the gates in particular, writing: "I object to this destruction of the countryside. The gates would suit a Russian oligarch in Surrey."

No drawings or plans of the gates were included in the planning application.

The entrance to Parsons Field Stables, adjacent to the site of the rejected proposal (Image: Google) Read next: Fish restaurant was storing salmon at 11.8°C and told to stop selling raw tuna

Pulborough Parish Council also formally objected to the proposal.

In the council's planning report, it was noted that a large portion of the hedgerow fronting Pickhurst Lane had been removed to create access to the field, and extensive hard standing was laid across the site to provide access roads to the two pitches and stables.

The report said: "The development results in a sense of domestic sprawl to the detriment of the undeveloped character and quality of the local landscape."