A TEMPORARY summer only consent for a gypsy site with up to 25 units is expected to be approved at Piddlehinton by Dorset Council.

The permission is for a month less than previous temporary permissions, starting on April 1, rather than March 1, and running until the end of August.

The authority is asking to use 2.25 hectares on the south eastern edge of the former army site off Church Hill as a temporary measure for three years from April to the end of August. Until now the land has been set aside as a gypsy and traveller transit site and, when not in use, reverts to being a pony paddock. This pattern is expected to continue.

The site is separate from the permanent gypsy site a short distance away.

Dorset Council say the application follows a series of temporary permissions for use of the land as a transit site by gypsies, travellers and travelling show people. It is not asking for any changes such as hardstandings or lighting and has no plans to remove any existing vegetation or trees.

In effect, the application, is little more than a legally requirement and is not expected to affect the way the site has been run.

The site use dates back to 2012 when a temporary permission was granted at the time of the Olympics. There followed another permission in 2014 for a gypsy site for up to 25 caravans for six months of the year until the end of August, and in June 2016 a further three years was agreed until August 2019.

Legally the council has an obligation to provide sites for gypsies and travellers with a review expected later this year as part of the Local Plan consultation process. The new permission is expected to continue until the new local plan comes into force.

The only other temporary, or transit site, in the county is at Tarrant Hinton which has a capacity of 100 pitches and is only used at the time of the Great Steam Fair.

Figures produced by the council show that the use of the transit site at Piddlehinton has generally declined over the years, based on the amount of security needed to be employed – in 2015/16 the council paid for 3,113 hours of security staffing; 2016/17 532 hours, 2017/18 1,236 hours; 2018/19 1,197 hours and 2019/20 around 510 hours.

“On average the security costs suggest that the caravan site has been used for around 54 days (or 30%) of the 184 days that it was available for use each year. The council does not have details of how intensively the site has been used,” said a report to the planning team.

The site is only expected to be use when police enact their powers over unauthorised encampments and, even then, only for short periods.

Public comments on the application can be made to the council by August 25.