Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document

Disagree

We write as residents of Bearsted to oppose the plans to consider the site at The Lodge, Water Lane for a Traveller site. The owner of this property has already attempted to obtain permission for development of the site to the planning authority and has over the past few years been consistently rejected due to being an unsuitable site for development Why this site would then be suitable for the development of a traveller site has to be questioned. The access to the site is barely a single track off of Water Lane and the approach road - Water Lane already experiences significant traffic issues and is certainly not suitable for the amount of extra traffic this site would generate. As a horse owner and dog walker we already experience almost daily near misses with traffic on the country lanes that surround Bearsted and the introduction of a site in Water Lane will add to the traffic issues. Only recently were the tragic deaths of our neighbours who were walking along a neighbouring lane when they were killed by a speeding motorist. Water Lane frequently floods and is often impassable by motorists , not an ideal scenario for a large increase in residents In the lane. Bearsted is considered to be one of the most beautiful villages in Kent and people visiting the area bring with them income To local businesses. The introduction of a traveller site to the area would be detrimental to both residents and businesses in the area. There must be sites that are more suitable than this proposed one in Bearsted. We hope that those responsible for sourcing a suitable site will take note of the above views