Travellers woo council in bid to get new settlement approved by promising to install e-bike chargers to prove their eco credentials
In a bid to woo the local council, Michael Chalk and Tom Butler have been accused of including 'token sustainability features' in their planning application in order to have their plans approved for a rural site in Burley, New Forest.
Their controversial application has caused a row amongst locals in the ancient village located in the heart of Hampshire's idyllic New Forest, after the pair and their families set up static caravans on the former horse paddocks before then lodging plans to install e-bike chargers and cycle sheds.
In a move dubbed by locals as 'performative', the travellers have proposed to build grey, plastic e-bike sheds and charging ports on the field.
Submitting a retrospective planning application to install two static caravans, two touring caravans, parking, bin and cycle stores, e-bike charging points and boundary fencing on the former pony paddocks earlier this year, their plans have now sparked outrage amongst local villagers.
Opposing the 'urbanising nature' of the development and its 'superficial additions', more than 70 local residents have since objected to the application.
Philip Mosley, a local resident, expressed his particular distaste for the e-bike chargers, stating: 'Token sustainability features, such as electric vehicle and e-bike charging points, do not genuinely offset the environmental impacts of permanent housing, increased traffic, waste production, and extensive hard surfaces.
'True sustainability should align naturally with the environmental context, rather than serving as superficial additions.'
Mr Mosley also raised concerns that such approval could set a 'concerning precedent' and encourage similar applications.
He added: 'Protecting the unique character of the New Forest National Park should be a top priority.
'While acknowledging the need for suitable accommodation options for all communities, including Gypsy and Traveller groups, this particular proposal significantly fails to meet essential planning criteria.
'The negative consequences clearly outweigh any perceived benefits.'
The traveller site runs through the historic village of Burley. With a population of just over 1,300 and popular with tourists, it is surrounded by the open heathland of the New Forest.
Andrew and Rachel Holloway live next to the paddocks and said that prior to the site's development in March, they overlooked fields and hedgerows.
But now, since the travellers have built on the site, they reported that the land has 'completely changed' as the pony paddocks have become 'urbanised', while the 'natural beauty of the fields and surrounding area' has been left 'damaged'.
The couple also remarked that the addition of the caravans and grey plastic bike sheds does not help to enhance the landscape and 'scenic beauty' of the New Forest.
They added: 'It certainly harms the character and appearance of the area, and would never be considered as high-quality design.'
Another neighbour, Mr Briggs, said while the application is framed as a 'multi-functional rural enterprise', the true proposal is 'unambiguously residential'.
He wrote: 'The application appears to exploit features-such as electric vehicle and e-bike charging points-as superficial nods to sustainability objectives.
'These token elements cannot reasonably be construed as mitigating factors for the intrusive environmental and visual impacts of permanent dwellings, waste generation, hard infrastructure, and increased vehicular activity.
'Sustainability, in planning terms, is holistic and must be contextually appropriate-not performative.'
Mr Chalk and Mr Butler have also received criticism for putting up 'threatening signage' outside of the site when they moved in.
One of the signs placed outside of the site reads: 'Strictly no entry without permission. Please beware. Reactive guard dogs roaming loose which will bite you.'
Within their application, the two men said that their families intend to integrate into village life, using local shops and other amenities.
However, one objector disagreed with such claim, arguing: 'The tall fencing and aggressive signage displayed at the entrance do not suggest a willingness to integrate with the community.'
Dr A Lawrence Dr C Walter even described such application as 'mischievous', suggesting that it 'seeks to legalise an encroachment of a built residential environment onto rural land, and that in a National Park'.
They added: 'The proposal is for static homes with attendant infrastructure - charging points, bin stores, cycle stores.
'It urbanises and its fences suburbanise what was a pony paddock in a rural setting.
'There is nothing temporary in this proposal just as there is nothing rural or agricultural. Already mostly built, it sets a damaging precedent for incremental (sub)urbanisation of the village.'
The New Forest Park Authority are set to make a decision on the plans later this week.
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