CONTROVERSIAL plans to turn a former mushroom farm near Selby into a base for travelling fairground workers could be approved next week despite a wave of opposition.

Selby District Council planners have recommended giving the go-ahead to a scheme which would see the now-disused site at Gateforth Park, at Thorpe Willoughby, become “showpeople’s quarters”, 18 months after a previous application was rejected.

The latest proposals, by Aliceann Smith and Donegal Creameries, who represent fairground workers with links to the district, were drawn up after the applicants said there was a “desperate need” for permanent accommodation to be found for them after a five-year search had failed to find suitable sites, and the council’s planning committee will make a decision next Wednesday.

The former mushroom farm was the scene of five suspected arson attacks in 2010 and another suspicious fire broke out there in February.

Thorpe Willoughby, Gateforth and Hambleton Parish Councils have all objected to the scheme over issues including road safety, noise and the impact on local communities, as well as claiming Selby’s Local Plan – which lays out a framework for planning matters in the district – does not include provision for showpeople’s quarters.

The Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain has supported the plans, but 280 letters and emails opposing them have also been sent to the council.

If approved, the site would have space for ten families and planning officers have said conditions should be laid down to ensure it does not expand and it can only be used by fairground workers, rather than other members of the travelling community.

A report by planning officer Yvonne Naylor, which will go before the planning committee meeting, said: “The applicants have undertaken a far-reaching site search, have submitted evidence on shows attended by the proposed occupiers in the area, attained support from the Showmen’s Guild and have not found an alternative site.

“As such, it is considered there is a need for showpeople’s quarters which carries significant weight in the consideration of this application.”

She also said planners did not believe the scheme would cause any problems with the “peaceful and integrated co-existence of the showmen and the existing community” in Thorpe Willoughby, and there was a “separation” between the site and the village’s residents.