A traveller site almost trebled in size without planning permission, it has been revealed.

The owners of Moate Farm in Fordwich, near Canterbury, were told two years ago that they could increase the number of caravans on the plot from six to 20.

Their bid had initially been rejected by the city council but the decision was later overturned by a government planning inspector, who blamed the authority’s lack of traveller provision as the main reason for his verdict.

But rather than stop at 20 caravans, it emerged in the summer that the number of motorhomes on the site off Stodmarsh Road had grown to 57.

City council spokesman Rob Davies said: “A council officer visited the site in August following an enquiry from a member of the public, alerting us to the fact that additional caravans had been brought onto the site.

“We found that an additional 37 caravans had been brought onto the land, over and above those allowed by the planning inspector in 2018.”

During the appeal two years ago, inspector Richard Clegg said there was a “clear, existing need” for gypsy and traveller sites in the district, which was not being met by the council.

Following the visit in August, the owner of the land decided to launch a retrospective bid to secure the green light for the extra vans.

Papers submitted to the city council attribute the unauthorised use of the site – which they admit had “been ongoing for some time prior to the outbreak of Covid-19” – to a dearth of gypsy and traveller camps across the district.

They read: “This is a matter resulting in extended family and members of the travelling community, who are known to the existing occupants of the site, doubling up for extended periods of time and seeking a settled base for them and their families.

“There is a substantial need for more sites within the district that the council are unable to deliver.

“The proposed total number of static caravans, being 57, would not dominate the nearest settled population, nor would such an increase result in an unacceptable impact on the surrounding area.”

If the council decides to turn down the project, the owner of the plot hopes the authority will grant a temporary permission “for alternative accommodation to be sought by the occupants of the unauthorised static homes during a five-year period”.

But Fordwich Town Council chairman Philip Lewis says he will be opposing the latest bid to expand the site.

“Up until now they have just cleared the ground, put in more caravans and put up a bund - so getting it to planning is a step in the right direction,” he explained.

“It’s too large a population for the size of our town and it’s a greenbelt area that has been turned into a residential area, which seems to fly in the face of what the city council has planned.

“They are very good neighbours but my expectation is that we would stand firmly against it, as we have done with all the planning applications.”

This comes weeks after plans were unveiled to add six more caravans to nearby Romany Green in Well Lane.

The applicant also cited a lack of gypsy and traveller provision as a reason why it should be approved.

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