Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Development Plan Document

Strongly disagree

As a local resident, I do not believe that larger villages such as Hollingbourne are suitable locations for Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Pitch (GTTP) sites, including any future ‘windfall’ plots. Hollingbourne has very limited local facilities. There is no village hall, shop, post office, GP, dentist or secondary school, and access to Hollingbourne Primary School is already restricted for local families. With planned housing growth in the area, pressure on school places will only increase. As the school has a very small intake of around 15 children per year, even a small number of additional pupils in a single year group would have a noticeable impact. The village and surrounding area contain a large number of listed buildings and nearby conservation areas. This historic character is very important to me and to many residents, and it also supports tourism in the area. Locating GTTP sites close to these heritage assets would harm the character and setting of the village. Eyhorne Street is a gateway to the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is valued for its countryside, wildlife and open landscape. Development on green belt land, farmland and woodland should be avoided wherever possible. Local roads such as Greenway Court Road, Hospital Lane and Greenway Lane already suffer from fly-tipping, and I am concerned that additional sites would worsen this problem without strong and enforceable controls. A 400-metre buffer from the village is not sufficient, particularly for residents living on the edges of the village. Even at this distance, GTTP sites would still result in increased traffic through Hollingbourne to access services that are not available locally, placing further pressure on narrow rural roads that are not suited to larger vehicles. For these reasons, I believe GTTP sites would be better located in areas with better access to services and a road network capable of supporting the additional traffic, rather than in or around villages like Hollingbourne