Second Gypsy public inquiry opens

A council spokesman said the second inquiry should result in a final decision

A second public inquiry into a long-running row over an illegal Gypsy camp in Wiltshire has begun.

Sixteen Gypsy families have been living without planning consent on a field they own at Minety since August 2003.

The hearing, at North Wiltshire District Council's offices in Chippenham, is listed for four days.

After the first inquiry, in February 2005, the Gypsies were allowed to stay at Minety for a further 18 months while the council sought an alternative site.

Six sites were proposed - two at Wootton Bassett, two at Calne and two at Chippenham.

Established residency

But after a lengthy public consultation and much public outcry, the council last week announced that none was suitable.

Shortly after buying the three-acre plot in 2003, the Gypsies moved 13 caravans in, dug drains, connected electricity to the site and made hard-standings - all in one weekend.

A subsequent retrospective planning application was turned down by the council in January 2004.

In August 2004, a judge ruled that the 50-plus Gypsies could stay at the site pending the result of the February 2005 planning appeal.

The Gypsies won and then deputy prime minister John Prescott said they could stay at Minety for another 18 months - a period which expired in the autumn of 2006.

You can't go to school if you are parked on the roadside Maggie Smith-Bendell, Gypsy Council

Howard Greenman, Conservative councillor for housing, said: "Our single strongest argument is that they moved in in 2003 without planning consent.

"We are, however, in the hands of the inspector regarding this, as there have now been five years of established residency."

The Gypsies say they should be permitted to stay because they are integrated into the local community and their children are at local schools.

Maggie Smith-Bendell, of the Gypsy Council, told the BBC: "Education is important to these people. You can't go to school if you are parked on the roadside."

A spokesman for the council said: "In theory, this second public inquiry should result in a final decision on the matter."