Villagers object to plan for traveller's site

The plans, submitted for the applicants by agents WS Planning and Architecture, seek for a change of land use on land adjacent to the M4, north west of Furze Hill, to provide five pitches for five mobile homes, touring caravans and day rooms.
The agents claim that the “Local Plan fails to identify suitable locations for Gypsy-traveller sites in the district” and therefore Government guidelines which presume in their favour must come into play.
So far, more than 60 objections have been lodged with West Berkshire Council’s planning department, with issues ranging from access, environmental impact, local provision and crime.
Hampstead Norreys resident Leanne Hogburn said that the site would “devastate the look of the rural landscape” and would have a “deeply detrimental affect” on the existing ecosystem.
And villager Barbara Kilpatrick said: “To give permission for the application would be foolish and have an adverse impact of the character and appearance of the area and is totally inappropriate. Its up to you West Berks to do you duty and look after our beautiful English villages not scar them with a traveller/gypsy camp!
She added that local schools were already full and that taking in gypsy children would cause “all sorts of aggression.”
Parish councillors in Hampstead Norreys and neighbouring Hermitage have also objected to the plans, raising the point that a recent application for a travellers site at Stable View was rejected because of the harmful impact to the area.
The agents state that the families will have nowhere to live if the plans are rejected and that they need to be settled to access health services.
Agents also say that the land would be suitable and there would be no justification to withhold planning permission, going so far as to say that at the very least, the council should grant temporary planning permission until sites have been allocated.
A decision is expected from West Berkshire Council on January 7.