9:29am Friday 27th January 2012
By Nadia Jefferson-Brown
MOVES to transform a derelict mushroom farm into a base for fairground workers near Selby have triggered a mixed response from the community.
More than 20 people have lodged letters of objection to the planning application to change the use of the former Gateforth Mushroom Farm on the Selby Bypass at Thorpe Willoughby into accommodation for show people.
Previous proposals for “showpeople’s quarters” on the site which has been a target for arsonists were thrown out by Selby District Council a year ago after hundreds of objections were raised. But a fresh application has been made which would involve demolishing existing buildings and creating space for ten families.
The Showmen’s Guild Of Great Britain has given its full support to the bid, by Aliceanne Smith and Donegal Creameries, who represent a group of travelling fairground workers with strong ties to the district, saying in a letter to the council that it was “much-needed” in the area.
Stated a letter: “This proposal needs to be fairly and comprehensively considered and we believe should succeed as Selby is central for the working pattern of those people who will occupy the site and therefore ideal for their purpose. We fully support this application.”
North Yorkshire Police has expressed no concerns about the site, in terms of its potential for crime, but has raised objections on road safety grounds.
Wrote the police’s architectural liaison officer Jim Shanks, in a letter to the council: “The proposed layout plan would appear to indicate a secure site with clearly defined boundaries and areas of defensible space, particularly in and around each individual plot,” .
He recommended a 2.4 metre-high perimeter fence or wall be installed to prevent any unauthorised entry particuarly as plots could be left vacant during the “travelling season”.
He said “a robust management system” was paramount, ideally with a site manager to tackle any unauthorised occupation.
He also noted that North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service had responded to nine deliberate fires at the site between September 2010 and August 2011, but said his enquiries with surrounding forces had revealed there had been no issues with other travelling showpeople’s sites.
However, North Yorkshire Police Traffic Management had objected “on serious road safety grounds”, particularly as the application would have access directly on to the A63 Selby bypass. The access existed before, but was never used by the mushroom farm because of the dangers of vehicles turning onto and off the high-speed bypass road.
“This development ignores those dangers,” said Mr Shanks, who said the entrance was “totally inadequate for the speed of the road”.
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