Permanent approval for Gypsy/Traveller site

A family have been granted permanent planning permission for a Gypsy/Traveller site which was originally unauthorised.

The Stewart family, who have lived on the site at Doohill, near Lhanbryde, for seven years, had an application for temporary planning permission turned down by Moray councillors four years ago.

They appealed the decision and in May 2013 a government appointed planning reporter upheld the appeal and granted a temporary three-year approval.

The reporter concluded that while the development was contrary to the council’s policy on countryside around towns, it integrated satisfactorily into the surrounding landscape and had a minimal impact on the rural character of the area.

The decision to uphold the appeal was also based partially on the council’s failure to identify halting sites for Gypsy/Travellers in Moray which would disadvantage the family in continuing their way of life.

Today’s meeting of the council’s planning and regulatory services committee was told that while there were no other privately owned and occupied Gypsy/Traveller sites proposed within Moray, approval of the Doohill development would not set any precedent or compromise other policies or principles in the Moray Local Development Plan.

A report to committee added: “With the passage of time, the site has become more established and landscaping along the northern and western boundaries has further mitigated its visual impact.”

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 92,500 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.