Hemley Hill Action Group
Affiliated to the national RAID Alliance

FINAL DECISION - APPEALS DISMISSED

The Secretary of State, Mr Erik Pickles has 'DISMISSED' the appeal against an enforcement notice served by the Council on 2nd Sept 2009 alleging a material change of use of the land to use as a gypsy and traveller caravan site and requiring restoration of the land to its previous condition.
The Secretary of State, Mr Erik Pickles has also 'DISMISSED' the appeal against the refusal by the Council to grant planning permission for a change of use to include the stationing of caravans for nine gyspy pitches with utility/day room buildings and hard standing.

The Travellers have been given 18 months to comply with the enforcement notice.

To read the full decision by the Secretary of State and the Inspectors report - go to the 'Wycombe District Council pages on Hemley Hill

The Public Inquiry was held between 13th - 16th July and then a fifth day and final day was required on Aug 16th. To read all about what was said during the 5 days of the Public inquiry, go to our 'links' page and view the various Bucks Free Press reports

The Hemley Hill Travellers put in an APPEAL against the ENFORCEMENT NOTICE that was served on them on 3rd Sept 2009. In addition on the 13th Nov 2009, Wycombe District Council officially "refused" the Travellers planning application!

The Travellers appealled both the enforcement notice and the planning refusal,

The HHAG appointed it's own barrister and planning expert, who both made a fanstastic case for us, in our fight to have Hemley Hill restored to its previous state, a beautiful part of the Chiltern Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The cost of the Inquiry to the local residents has already exceeded £50,000 and this figure will rise even further due to the fifth day that was required at the inquiry to hopefully bring this matter to a positive conclusion. As always, if you wish to donate to the fighting fund, every single donation will be very, very gratefully received. You can pay in direct at Lloyds TSB in the High Street or use the "Donate" button on this website and pay using Paypal.

Thank you for your continued support.

'Minded to Refuse'

From Wycombe District Council's report on the Hemley Hill Planning Application:

The certificate of ownership of the land submitted with the Planning application appears to be incorrect and no evidence has been provided to show that the applicant - Mr Patrick Hanrahan - actually owns the site. The legal advice is that the planning application is therefore deemed to be invalid and any decision could be struck down in the Court if the Council proceeded to determine the application.

Click Here for the Full report, Click Here for the Bucks Free Press report, and if you really want to know ALL the details, Click Here.

The Full WDC planning application report is here and the planning officer's report is here

'A Rude Awakening'

At 9.00 am on Good Friday this year, the peace and quiet of the Chiltern countryside was shattered by the arrival of diggers, huge lorry loads of hardcore, hundreds of yards of 2 metre high fencing and around fifty burly workmen.

Within a day they had opened up a large entrance to a field, erected a fenced barrier around the field and had begun to hard core every available square metre of grass.

Wycombe District Council was alerted by local residents and, on the Easter Sunday, a Stop Notice was placed on the field.

However, work had proceeded at such a pace that the field was already, effectively, a large caravan site.

On the right you can see the before and after photos of the havoc that has been wreaked on our lovely local greenbelt and there are more photos in the Photo Section

Even though work was stopped on the site, the occupiers, calling themselves "Travellers" , have put in a retrospective planning application for permission to formally turn this lovely field into a tarmac-covered caravan site, including bungalows and a block of so-called day rooms (which are like small apartments).

We have formed a local group of concerned residents with the aim of fighting the planning application and working to restore the field and the surrounding area to its original natural state.

This area of the Chilterns is not only classed as Greenbelt, but is also within the locally designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): a resource for walkers, cyclists, horse riders and anyone who wishes to have access to the open countryside.

On this site you will find a photo gallery showing the desecration that has been wreaked on the area and there are links to the Wycombe District Council site, giving their own updates on the situation.

If you wish to join us in our fight for your green spaces, please send us your name and address Click Here to Contact Us

Thank you for your interest and we thank you for any help and support you can give.

HOW TO DONATE:

Donations to help our fight can be made directly to:

Lloyds TSB Bank ,Market Square, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, HP27 0AS

Account Name:	Hemley Hill Action Group
Sort Code:	30 96 86
Account Number:	00678223