A court injunction has been issued to stop the development of a new 'gypsy and traveller' camp on Romney Marsh .

A planning application has been submitted to create four pitches, two entrances, hardstanding and landscaping, on land in Lydd Road, Old Romney, which is adjacent to the A259 and sits next to Martinfield Cottage.

The application is partly in retrospect, as work has already started on site.

As a result, Folkestone and Hythe District Council applied to Canterbury County Court for an injunction following complaints about hardstanding being laid on the land and mobile homes being moved on to the site.

A Temporary Stop Notice was served in August, followed by the injunction which is in place until this Wednesday (October 14) - when there will be a full hearing.

The planning application, submitted to the council in August, explains the plots will all be occupied by members of the same family or family members that are associated by marriage.

The document also states the council has a duty to allocate permanent gypsy and traveller pitches, which is necessary under the Places and Policies Local Plan.

'The council has to have regard to the best interest of the children in such cases and the needs of the children for a settled base...'

The application states: "The annual traveller count has just been completed and there is a clear unmet need within the borough.

"This may have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic meaning that people have been stopped from moving around and living at the roadside is now almost impossible.

"The council has to accept that it does not have a five year supply of Gypsy and Traveller sites and currently has a need to provide multiple pitches.

"The council, if it were to approve this application would be able to substantially meet its unmet need by delivering four pitches required.

"It should be noted that in this instance the occupants of the site do not have access to alternative pitch provision."

The documents state that a "number of children" are living at the site, including "infant babies", who would be "affected by a move from the site and permission being refused".

The application adds: "The council has to have regard to the best interest of the children in such cases and the needs of the children for a settled base as opposed to the alternative of a roadside existence."

The literature also notes that "a public authority must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the needs of the people with protected characteristics" in order to "eliminate discrimination, harassment or victimisation" and "advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it".

Additionally, the planning application reveals the family who will be living on site "have been left in extreme conditions through no fault of their own and they cannot be expected to live by the roadside with children".

But comments from neighbours have also been added to the planning portal, many objecting to the plans.

One reads: "Development of the site started in advance of the planning application, and hardstanding, new entrances and static caravans are on site.

"Another piece of agricultural grazing land and associated trees and hedges is lost, with no regard for the planning process, it's not acceptable for Romney Marsh to be destroyed."

Another states: "Travellers must of course have places where they can settle down but must work within the law, like the rest of us.

"The development of this site is clearly illegal and, to prevent further abuse of planning law, must be opposed and the land returned to its former condition."

A third objection said: "This new application looks very close to the road, and they appear to have started to make it a permanent site by erecting fencing and moving on non mobile caravans even before permission has been granted.

"This site looks a mess and does not fit in with the beautiful surrounding countryside.

"We need to stop this unsightly blotch on our landscape, before more travellers decide to buy up more land along this A259 road and also start their own travellers sites."

New Romney Town Council also recommends the application is refused.

The application is currently "under consultation" and it is not known when a decision will be made.

Last year, FHDC approved plans for another permanent campsite for members of the traveller community , also in Lydd Road.

Read more: All the latest news from Romney Marsh