The Scottish Government does not intend to intervene on councillors’ decision to approve a £2 million purpose-built council-run Gypsy Traveller stopping site at Perth Food and Drink Park.
Perth and Kinross Council’s Planning and Placemaking Committee approved the plans - against council planning officers’ recommendation for refusal - in June. The committee’s decision was referred to the Scottish Government due to objections by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and PKC’s Flooding team. Both objected - to PKC’s own application - on the grounds of flood risk and the risk to life if people are asleep when flooding occurs.
Site details and safeguards
The 7465m² site on Islay Place - within North Muirton Industrial Park - will accommodate 10 caravans in hardstanding pitches 10m apart from one another. The approved plans include a communal building with showers, toilets and an office, as well as an electric vehicle (EV) charging point and bins.
At the June meeting, PKC’s strategic lead for Housing and Communities, Elaine Ritchie argued the case for approval. The council’s Housing chief said the flood risk would be “actively managed” with safeguards in place including sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS), surface water management systems, early warning arrangements - including an alarm - and a detailed evacuation plan.
Councillors' rationale
Ms Ritchie told elected members there was a “pressing and well-evidenced need for lawful transit provision in Perth” and emphasised the “clear duty” PKC had to assess needs and make appropriate provision for this protected ethnic group.
North Muirton Industrial Park has been used by Gypsy Travellers for decades and the development of the Food and Drink Park has not had the uptake PKC originally hoped for. Councillors were told that by managing the site, PKC would have more power to move people on faster and Gypsy Travellers would stay for a maximum of three months.
Development Management team leader Paul Williamson said his team’s recommendation for refusal “had not been an easy decision to reach” but that “it is the issue of siting and risk, which has been the determining factor, reinforced by the input of SEPA and Flooding colleagues”. However, the committee went against the recommendation and unanimously voted for approval.
Government response
Moving the plans for approval the committee’s convener SNP councillor Ian Massie said: “Gypsy Travellers have been taking unauthorised occupation of this land at Arran Road for many years and this is a situation that the Housing service and Legal and Governance have been unable to prevent. “That tells me that whatever the outcome of this application, Gypsy Travellers will continue stopping there. If we acknowledge this reality, I consider that it will be better and indeed safer if this land is used with planning consent rather than on an unauthorised basis.”
On July 31 a reporter from the Scottish Government’s Planning Directorate wrote to PKC to say Scottish Ministers did not intend to intervene on Perth and Kinross councillors’ decision. The response issued from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division said: “It is not Scottish Ministers’ intention to intervene in this application by either issuing a direction restricting the granting of consent or by calling in the application for their own determination. Accordingly you, as determining authority, are hereby authorised to take forward the application in the correct manner.”
