Former lorry site near Torrington proposed as campsite for travelling showmen

A former HGV training facility near Torrington is being proposed as a site for travelling show people and testing ground for fairground equipment.

If approved by Torridge Devon Council it would be the first identified travellers’ site in the whole of North Devon, say planning documents.

The land at West Park, Yarnscombe is being proposed for seven plots for both permanent and occasional use by show people, their mobile homes and fairground equipment if required.

It follows a pre-application enquiry where officers looked favourably upon the plans in principle.

READ NEXT: Charity urges council to reject bid for traveller pitches in North Devon hamlet

Each plot would be set out with its own hardstanding, parking, boundary treatment, water supply, bin/recycling facilities and a foul waste provision in the form of individual septic tanks and soakaways, said planning agents Tree Tops Planning on behalf of applicant Matthew Stevens.

In addition, there would hardstanding for the parking of ancillary vehicles and fairground equipment plus a children’s play area for families.

A separate area would be created for the setting up of the fairground rides for testing/maintenance purposes. There would be no fairground operation on site.

Show people would be constantly moving in and out of the site.

Noise and disturbance would only involve the arrival and departure of vehicles, said the agents.

Fairground rides would only be assembled for maintenance and testing in accordance with health and safety requirements and any operational testing would only be carried out between 9am and 4.30pm.

The land is set below the road and nearby industrial estate and bounded by woodland on all sides. The nearest property is 250 metres away.

Additional landscaping is planned to improve the appearance of the brownfield location which currently has a series of bare earth plateaus, earth mounds and driveways.

Tree Tops Planning said the proposed use would be considerably quieter than the industrial/commercial use that the site benefits from.

Due to the nature of the site and being a brownfield plot, it was considered to lend itself to a showmen’s site, they said.

Torridge District Council will decide on the application at a later date.

The lack of travellers’ sites in North Devon and Torridge has been flagged as an issue and is thought to have led to unauthorised encampments taking place in the district.

There is requirement in the local plan to provide at least 15 permanent pitches and two short-term stopping sites.

READ NEXT: The parrot may have fallen off the sign but The Patch is well and truly back!