RESIDENTS in a village near Chard have hit out after a planning application was submitted for a travellers’ caravan site on an area of land prone to flooding.

The application, which is set to be debated by South Somerset District Council, is for land on The Drift, Forton.

If approved, it could see a private gypsy caravan site consisting of four pitches and associated development built.

The application, submitted by gypsy liaison officer Maggie Smith-Bendell on behalf of Michael and Jason Ayres, is for land which residents and the parish council have said frequently floods and the road leading to the site is privately maintained.

Now, villagers have hit out at the plans, and implored the district council to refuse them.

One local resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “We have been put in a corner.

The land owners have been applying for years to build a house there and now the land has been sold to the gypsy community.

“The land is not suitable. The drift is already flooding. It is a private road and we pay for it. We have just been stuck into a corner. Part of it is a public bridleway and it is already flooding. Horses get worried because they can’t see the bottom of the water when it rains.

“When it floods I can get out in my large car but not in my smaller one. Developing the Drift will only make this worse.”

Tatworth and Forton parish Council have recommended the application for refusal on a number of grounds.

“All of the properties in The Drift and Wreath are dependant on bore, spring and well water,” said parish council chairman Cllr Andrew Turpin in their reasons for refusal.

“Several of these wells dry up in hot weather. Four gypsy families would also need to take their water from the same source. This would put strain on the supply both for existing residents and the gypsy families.

“Waste water and septic tank effluent near a water course can cause contamination. As the ground is clay and green-sand 250mm below the surface, this is highly likely. As with the water supply, this would put a strain on the current infrastructure both for existing residents and the Gypsy families.”

The council added that an ecological survey was yet to be carried out and The Drift is not suitable for large vehicles such as caravans.

Further reasons included the planning application only consisting of one entrance when there should be two, the “scale of development is out of character”, there are no local amenities meaning more frequent use of vehicles on The Drift, there is no water for a fire hydrant, and there is no parking for visitors to the potential site.

South Somerset District Council are set to make a decision on the planning application on July 6.